Project Armageddon
by Ichimu
Summary: AU: Kagome's father was the only one they ever made. Kikyo fell to the Government young, and now Kagome's heading down the same path...unless she can trust the most wanted man in Japan: Inuyasha. IKa & SM
1. Overture

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Please do not sue.

Author's Note: Here we go! The first installment of one of my favorite stories I've written over the past three years. I hope you guys all enjoy this! So hang on tight, because it's going to be a wild ride!

**PROJECT ARMAGEDDON**

Chapter 1, Overture

There's a buzzing, and then a blinding light is shoved into my face. I blink hard against the offensive breach of darkness. I realize I'm shaking myself awake…I must have lost consciousness after they tied me to the chair.

"What's your name?" questions a person somewhere in the thick cover of darkness. I recognize the voice as belonging to one of the men who had been in the room with us when I --when they left me behind…left me for dead. I know that he knows my name, my face, and my situation. It's a simple "for the record" question. The sting of my abandonment resurfaces and clouds my judgment.

"Higurashi Kagome, you ugly son of a bitch!" Alright, probably not the best choice of words, but I'm tired, confused, scared, and hurt. My throat feels like it's been filled with cotton balls, my tongue is swollen in my head. My eyes burn, and I suddenly remember the prick of a needle being slipped under my skin. _So, they drugged me after they tied me in…_that's _why I lost consciousness_.

As punishment for my foul language, my interrogator sends my ears ringing with the end of his handgun. My head is thrown to the side by the blow, and the chair rocks dangerously. It resettles, and I move to collect my thoughts that were scattered by the vicious attack. I curse again --but under my breath this time-- as I feel blood trickle down my cheek. I can feel the bump forming on the side of my head.

Another light is turned on at the far side of the room and I see a standard stainless steel table piled high with sanitized equipment. Over the table is a glass cupboard stacked with multicolor liquids in glass containers. The scene is partially obscured by the silhouette of a man who is putting surgical gloves on his long bony fingers. He takes a syringe from a nearby tray and uses it to extract a ruby-red liquid. I recognize it immediately as sodium penothol: truth serum. My stomach gives a nasty jerk, and my mind rushes back of his warning: '…highly dangerous, Kagome. Can make a person crazy…'

"Now, my dear," the man addresses me, bringing my mind back, "you have two choices: the easy way…or the hard way." He pushes the syringe's end on the latter statement, sending a tiny jet of the sodium penothol into the air.

He walks across the room to me, keeping his face hidden by shadows, and holds the syringe in the light so that I can examine it. He lowers it threateningly to my arm, which is bound tightly against that of the chair. He leans in close to my ear and whispers, "Tell me about your affiliation with the criminal Inuyasha."

Like hell I'm going to tell him. I may have been hurt, but I'm not going to give away my only chance of getting my life back. I'm not going to tell him, but I will tell you.

So forget what you've heard in the newspaper and on TV. Forget what the Government has nailed into your brains through the radio. Discard the headlines full of scandalous, hart-wrenching stories about a girl that they never knew. Discard the image of a hard-working, middleclass schoolgirl who was kidnapped and perverted to the rebel movement by the most wanted man in the country. Leave all that at the doorstep 'cause I'm going to tell you the truth.

THREE MONTHS EARLIER

_Tokyo_

I guess, to some degree, I was happy then. I mean, I was _satisfied_. There was nothing really to complain about. I had gotten accepted to one of Tokyo's finest high schools. My boyfriend was one of the cutest, sweetest boys in school. My family was well off, and my friends were caring…it would seem my life couldn't get any better, right?

Maybe you're right. Maybe that life was something you would like to lead. I can't speak for you. But I can speak for myself, and I know now that that life was a _lie_. That life was a shadow, an image that the Government created for the populace to disguise the real truth. It was a life of ignorance.

"Ignorance is bliss." Confucius. Well, Confucius you nut-job, let me tell you something that will blow your mind: the ignorant bliss of the people of Tokyo was killing tens of innocent people a day. That's right, from five to fifty citizens of Japan a day, right under our noses. And we never knew. Neighbors, teachers, friends…they disappeared and never came back.

We never asked where they went. Their lives were the sacrifices we were willing to make to turn the blind eye.

Even I never asked. That is, not until I became one of those unfortunate people.

(-)

"Higurashi!"

I turned in the hallway and my eyes fell on my far too enthusiastic boyfriend. He was running down the hall towards me while waving his hand over his head and smiling like an idiot. Trying my best to control the blush I felt springing up on my cheeks, I beamed at him, showing him that I would wait. When he got closer to me, I smiled again. "Hey, Hojo-kun," I greeted him warmly.

"How was school today?" He leaned up against the wall beside me.

Mentally, I groaned. More than anything in the world, I _hate _small talk. "Great, you?" I searched discretely for a way out of the situation. Yesterday's after-school date had been a complete disaster, and I wasn't too keen on the idea of another trip home in soaking wet clothes.

"It was…good." Hojo was fumbling for words to fill in the empty space, but the smile on his face didn't falter for a second.

Somewhere down the hall, I heard my friend Eri complain about her mother's job at the library. Apparently, her mother, the head librarian, would be working late again because she had to sort the storage. Thanks to Eri's griping, I suddenly had a brilliant idea of how to get out of the situation. "I've got to go, Hojo-kun. Sorry, but I promised to help Jichan clean out the storage in one of the older parts of the shrine. See you around, yeah?"

Hojo's smile grew. He was so understanding…and _so _gullible. "Yeah, see you!"

I turned and scuttled down the hall at top speed.

(-)

Finally, I reached my street. My family owns a shrine and has for…ages. Higurashi Shrine it's called, but really it's just storage closets filled with junk and a plot of land surrounded by legends as old as the dust on some of the scrolls. Jichan, who technically owns the shrine, is the main and only priest on active duty at the Higurashi Shrine. Ever since we started dating, Hojo had been popping in now and again to help my grandfather in his "holy services" to society. My family's house is located near the back of the shrine, flanked by trees of the surrounding sparse forest.

I skirted the main building and sprinted up to the god worshipped at our shrine- a several-thousand-year-old tree named Goshinboku. I quickly bowed my head to the tree. It has some crazy story surrounding it that my grandpa was always trying to sell me. Something about a hanyou and a girl from their future and a little wish-granting stone called the something no Tama. Yeah right. I mean, who believes that kind of crap these days?

I finished my prayer, crossed the yard, and entered my house. "Tadaima!" I called happily as I slipped off my school shoes and placed them on the greeting mat.

"Okeari nasai!" said my mother as she emerged from the kitchen. She flashed me a cheerful smile, which I returned. "No Hojo today?"

"No," I answered as I made for the stairs. My mom is observant, but she rarely comments. In every sense of the term, she is the perfect Japanese woman.

After vainly attempting to start my homework, I embarked on a quest to the shower. I turned on the steam and spent a luxurious forty-five minutes preening myself. I dried my hair, changed into comfortable at-home-clothes, and settled into my room to watch an hour of good-old cable before dinner. Ah, the simple life.

I didn't know it yet, but all that simplicity was about to disappear.

(-)

Just as I began nodding off to the incomprehensibly boring weather report, I heard a crash downstairs. I shut off the TV. Then, I listened. There was no voice, no call from below that would reveal whoever had caused the crash and the state of their well being, and no one was asking.

My father died when I was young, but I hadn't forgotten his careful instructions and his monthly drills. My body moved across the room of its own accord, settling into the silent march that I had practiced as a child. The back of my hand tested the doorknob for the heat of a fire. There was none. I pressed my ear to the door and listened again. Somewhere downstairs, I heard muffled voices. I shifted my position noiselessly and put my ear now on the floor. Someone was in the room below, which was my grandfather's room. Biting my lip, I reached up, slowly opened the door, and peeked out into the hall.

No one was there. From where I sat, I could see that the door to my little brother's room was open as well. I pushed my door open more, and saw the paled face of Souta, my younger sibling, looking out into the hall. Our dark eyes met, and I nodded to him. He too had not forgotten the routine. Carefully, we stepped into the otherwise deserted hall, and I clasped his hand in mine.

"We're making a break for it," I mouthed to him. He nodded, too afraid to protest. Father had died before he had gotten any farther in the routine with Souta. Now, my little brother was depending on me. I wouldn't lose my cool…yet. I took a deep breath, and pulled Souta with me as we began our descent down the stairs.

The Government outlawed guns years ago, only about a week after my father had died, but my mom had always been sure that our gun could never be found. I wasn't sure why my mother was so keen on keeping the gun around, but I had never asked. Now, I thanked the gods that mom had been so cautious. I counted the steps down. One-Two-Three-…-Seven. I stopped and bent down, feeling the floorboards. Then, I found the snag. I inserted my thumb and pulled up. The floorboard came up without so much as a squeak, and I reached in to pull out my father's handgun. It wasn't much, but it would get Souta and I through the house. As the unfamiliar weight settled in my palm, I prayed that I wouldn't have to use the weapon. I checked for bullets quickly, and then Souta and I continued down the steps.

We couldn't go out the front door, as Jiichan's room was in that direction and that was where the people who had broken into our house were. That meant we would have to take the long way around. I bit my lip in frustration and pulled Souta with me into the kitchen. Then, from behind me, I heard a male voice shout, "There!"

I didn't turn around before I started running. A kitchen chair was in my way, and my fist sent it sprawling. If they hadn't been referring to Souta and I and had, in fact, not been aware of our presence, they were plenty aware now. I crashed through the back door, dragging Souta along behind me, and began to sprint across the moonlit shrine grounds.

That was when they sounded the alarm. As a strict rule, every house has a little red button hidden in every room. If there is ever an emergency, such as a bomb scare or a massive earthquake, the family is required to press that button. It sends a signal through the city, and the alarm in the capital building goes off. Then, people have to scurry to the nearest safe house to be counted and sorted. Every conceivable event has its own ring tone. Tonight, the alarm was telling people that there was a bloodthirsty murderer on the loose.

I looked over at Souta, who was frozen in terror. "That's for _us_, Souta," I informed him, pointing to the streetlight that was blinking red with the alarm. The tension in his frame lessened some; Souta had a chronic fear of bloodthirsty murderers.

We passed under the torii that marks the only entrance and exit to the shrine. Before us the shrine stairs --a length of seemingly impossible-to-scale precipitous stone steps-- descended to the street below. I looked back over my shoulder, and saw three men racing across the shrine grounds toward us. A gun shot broke the silence of the night, and I felt the bullet graze past my leg. That was all the initiative that I needed. I turned and bolted down the stairs.

(-)

We were running down one of the main streets now, myself in the lead and Souta close behind. People scurried about, running toward the nearest shelter. They screamed and cried and some were trying to comfort small children. It was almost as bad as Tokyo at rush hour. I was sure the men wouldn't be able to find us in this mob of shelter-goers. But Souta and I weren't going to the shelters. If we went to the shelters, they would find us. We had to keep moving. In order to discourage unwanted attention, I had hidden my gun in my pocket. It stuck out quite a bit, but no one was looking.

My heart pounded with the flashing red streetlights, and my breath came in heaves. There was a wound on my leg where the bullet had flown past it, and it was beginning to burn. Souta was in a complete hysterical daze, and was beginning to stumble. I had to find a place where we could hide soon.

I turned the corner and headed down another street that I knew led to the old developments, those houses that were hurriedly abandoned in the bomb scares of 2010. The bomb scares had been so severe that even when the culprits had been caught, many people had still feared moving back into the neighborhood. Many homes had been abandoned with all the furniture still inside. Perhaps, I reasoned pleadingly, one would have semi-clean sheets and running water so that I could dress the wound on my leg.

There were far fewer people on this street. Those that were here moseyed along, taking their time in heading for the shelter. From the looks of them, I was pretty sure that a bloodthirsty murderer would have no chance against them. Souta moved closer to me.

Finally, just when I was ready to collapse, Souta barked in surprise. "Neesan!" he cried in delight, pointing at a dark alley. "There's a door half-way open in there!"

Raising my eyes to the star-less heavens, I gave silent praise to whatever divine power out there pitied us tonight. Then, I grabbed Souta's hand and pulled him with me into the alley. It was a short alley, and it had a dead end. Characteristically, I began to chew on my lip in frustrated concern. This was our only hope. I moved to the door.

There was a rusty, gnarled, key lock chain holding the door shut.

"Crap!" I exclaimed in fury.

"Neesan…" Souta whispered in concern, "Mama says you shouldn't curse so much. She says it's-"

I couldn't take it. The stress was too much. I took out the gun and pointed it at the chain's key lock. "Well, Souta, mama's not here now. So what I say goes. And I say that we blow this chain sky high."

A small, nervous yet boyishly mischievous grin started on Souta's face. I answered him by crinkling my nose in a teasing smile. Then, I did just as I told him I would: shot the chain up, over, and out of the alley. I reached back and pulled Souta inside of the dark room, slamming the door shut behind us.

In the deep silence of the room, I realized suddenly how tired I was. "Souta…" I breathed.

"Yes, neesan?"

I crinkled my nose again, this time in a decisive pout. "It smells like mothballs in here."

Souta let out a low chuckle. I joined him with a giggle of my own, and found that it felt remarkably good to laugh.

Several minutes later, Souta had discovered the light switch and I was moving through the abandoned house to search for clean cloth and water. Souta stayed in the room we had entered in, a living room with a squishy salmon-pink sofa and a TV that belonged in a museum. Eventually, I managed to find a bed and under the dust-ridden comforter, there were fairly clean white sheets. It appeared the moths had only just gotten to them, so for now, I was glad. In the adjoining bathroom, there was running water. I poured some onto the sheets, then returned to the living room and to Souta.

"Neesan?" Souta said after watching me clean my cut for a few minutes.

I grunted to show I was listening.

"What's going to happen to us?"

I blinked and looked up at my younger brother. His large brown eyes were wide with worry. I let out a little sigh and then heaved myself onto the squishy couch beside him. "Oh, Souta…" I said softly, pulling him in a light embrace, "don't worry so much about it. I'm here, and I'm going to look after you, ok?"

Souta blinked, and then a sly smile crossed his face. "That's exactly why I'm worried!"

"Hey!" I exclaimed. From our position, I easily pulled him into one of the most painful noogies of his life. When that was complete, I stood, gathered the sheets, and went to the bathroom to toss them in the bathtub.

"So, Souta," I said from the bedroom. "What do you say we try to find a board game in this shack, hmm? What do you want to play?"

"Chess," answered an unfamiliar male voice. I gasped, color draining from my cheeks. Immediately, I sprinted back into the living room. There, a young man of about twenty with gray hair, a suit, and sunglasses, was holding a gun to Souta's head. I hadn't even raised my gun before two more men appeared from behind the first, their large bazooka-like weapons pointed at my heart. "Checkmate," the man cooed.

I felt hot rage bubble up in my stomach, filling me with a fiery energy. "You _bastards_," I snarled between clenched teeth.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" the man with the sunglasses taunted. "Such naughty language for your guests!"

"You _broke into_ my house, you idiotic asshole."

"My, my, what a temper you have! No doubt inherited from your father! After all, your mother was _such_ a sweetheart once we got to negotiating." I could almost feel the mocking look in his eyes as he teased me.

"I swear to _God_, if you've touched my mother, you sick son of a-!"

"'Touched'?" the man said thoughtfully. "Well, that depends on what you mean by touched. I'm sure our…_offers_ 'touched' her quite deeply."

"Let him go," I demanded, motioning towards Souta forcibly.

"Making demands so soon in our relationship without an offer of your own is _not _common courtesy. After all, we have not yet even been introduced."

I was sure at this point that his gentleman act was going to cause me to retch. "Fine then, who the hell are you?"

"Fukouka, ma'am," the asshole said with a tip of his head. "And you're Higurashi Kagome."

"Great. Now that we're all acquainted and buddy-buddy," I seethed in the most sarcastic tone I could manage, " let my brother go."

"No," Fukouka answered simply. The gun pressed deeper in Souta's temple, and the boy was beginning to tremble badly. Tears shone at the corner of his eyes. "That is, not without a compromise of some kind."

I shook my head. "You can have whatever money you want, just give my brother back to me."

"Oh no, we don't want your money, that we have enough of," Fukouka said, a devilish smile crossing his lips.

"Then what is it you want?" I asked carefully.

"You."

I thought I was going to puke. Seriously, at that moment, my stomach was doing somersaults. "Excuse me?" I stuttered, flabbergasted and way beyond grossed-out.

Fukouka's mocking smile spread, and he moved forward, taking Souta with him. "That's right. If you come with us quietly, we'll let you and your family go."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, still confused. "Why would you want me?" I'm only an A-cup, after all, I thought to myself. The only boy I'd ever attracted was the biggest idiot in the whole world.

Fukouka's expression changed from overpowering joy to insanity. "Ah, so you don't know then? You don't have a clue what you are?"

"I'm a freaked-out fifteen-year-old girl who wants her family back and _never_ wants to see your ugly mug again," I provided smartly.

Fukouka grinned maniacally and stepped forward, pushing Souta back into the clutches of one of his henchmen. I tried to dash for him, but I found my way blocked when Fukouka shoved his handgun under my chin. I froze immediately, and the balloon of rage that had been building inside of me exploded into a million pieces, leaving only immense terror in its wake.

"You're coming with us, Higurashi-san," Fukouka said simply.

My eyes darted to the place where the two men stood, supporting their bazooka-like guns. I wondered about their past, and how they had gotten messed up in something like this. If I went with Fukouka, would I end up like them, brainless pawns that killed at the whim of their masters? My eyes darted to Souta, and I saw raw determination in his eyes. Don't do what they want, nee-san, I heard him saying. Don't do it.

"No," I said, glaring darkly at Fukouka.

Laughing gleefully, Fukouka extracted a small stiletto from his boot.

"NEE-SAN!" Souta screamed as Fukouka raised the stiletto.

Fukouka brought it to my face, and I closed my dark eyes in numbing fear. Then, I felt the skin on my cheek part, and a liquid slip down my cheek. I cried out in protestation to the pain, and Fukouka lifted his stiletto away. I opened my eyes and watched as Fukouka, still laughing like a madman, leaned in close to me and licked the blood from my cheek.

I wanted to scream, to fight, to rip Fukouka's sunglass-ed eyes out of their sockets with my nails, but I couldn't move. Terror had possessed and seized hold of my body, rendering it utterly useless. I was absolutely frozen in place. Oddly enough, my mind raced back to that afternoon when I had been watching the news. The top story was of a murderer at large. Apparently, he had killed a beautiful, law-abiding, seventeen-year-old girl and then disappeared. He had had some strange name like 'super dog' or something like that.

So consumed was I by this strange thought that I didn't hear the door being kicked open. It was only after the first gunshot ripped through the night that I came to my senses.

- Ichimu


	2. Raindrop Prelude

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Chopin. Please do not sue.

Author's Note: Thank you everyone who read the first chapter, and I reserve a special thanks to those of you who read and actually reviewed. I hope you enjoyed it.

Here's the second chapter. Please read and tell me what you think, what you'd like to know, whatever in the form of a review, because I really do read them and take them into consideration as I write!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Chapter 2, Raindrop Prelude

The shot ripped me back to the moment like hitting a deer while going 70 miles an hour on the highway. I jerked my head up, frantically searching my body; the suddenness of the shot and its affect on my brain had made me sure that I'd been the one shot. I found no bullet hole.

What happened next seemed strangely like long division: slow, calculated, and a pain in the ass. I realized everyone was looking at the door. Next, I saw the red light from the alarm where it spilled out across the ground, the shadow that interrupted it grotesque with vague semblance to a human being. Then, I followed the shadow to a pair of converses, a ripped pair of blue jeans, and a faded red tee shirt. There was a hole the approximate size of a bullet through his shirt around his left side. Finally, my eyes fell on his face. Luminous silver locks framed the face, whose details were veiled by shadows.

Two golden eyes met mine through the darkness, and I felt my heart jump into my throat. A strange pulse passed between our bodies in that moment and I had the strange yet undeniable feeling that I had met this person before. It was like I had known him my whole life, and every second of my existence had been ticking down toward my meeting of this single boy that stood in the doorway of a strange house, red light pouring in from behind him.

Then someone tripped on the remote and fast forward was set into motion. My life was suddenly going by ridiculously fast. The controls were ripped from my hand.

"Let them go," the golden-eyed strange commanded. He was tall, with a proud bearing. I guessed he was around my age, if not a little older.

Fukouka sniggered. "Now why would I do that?" I could have sworn that there was a spark of recognition behind those goddamn sunglasses.

"Bastard, let them go." The boy paused and moved into a fighting position. His eyes were as cold and narrow as icicles. "Because I fucking said so."

"President Naraku himself has issued an order for the delivery of this girl. The young boy there is icing on the cake. Would you be willing to pay the consequences that will come to pass should you choose to oppose us?" Fukouka growled. I could feel his anxiety growing.

The boy smirked viciously. "You serious?" His smirk spread. "I'd oppose you for free."

"If you want them, come and get them," Fukouka challenged, though his voice had lost a considerable amount of confidence. From where he stood, I could feel the big man shaking.

The boy and I looked at one another again. I couldn't read what was in his eyes, but there was something dark behind his golden irises. God, how I wish I had known that look; if I had, it would be different. If I had, Souta would be safe. It was a look of discouragement; he knew he couldn't save us both. In that look, he was deciding which of us he would take.

There was a blow to the back of my head. I felt as though I had just been hit by a freight train. My mind reeled and I pitched forward uncontrollably, hitting a table. The corner was sharp like the blade of a knife. It sliced through my lower stomach, a white-hot pain that blinded me. I hit the ground hard --practically a pillow-soft impact compared to the previous two.

I was blind, floundering on the ground like a fish out of water. I kept screaming so that my voice hurt. I don't remember what I screamed. I screamed my rage, my fear. I screamed for Souta, over and over again while bullets whizzed back and forth over my head. I recall being hit once or twice, but the pain in my stomach and head blocked everything else out. Blood was everywhere, red clouds in a rain of bullets. I emptied my stomach on the ground, pitching and reeling, and writhing.

Two strong arms reached out and encircled me. They pulled me in, into warmth and calm. The smells of nighttime filled my nostrils: dew drops, moonbeams, the wind, and the rustle of leaves. They slowed my heart and surrounded me with tranquility. "Hold on tight," a low voice whispered softly in my ear.

I complied, reaching out with my only mobile hand to clench a fistful of a faded red tee shit. My eyes connected once more with those amazing golden lanterns and my troubles slipped away. Then I was lifted from the earth, flying up and up. We hit a glass sunroof and a warm, callused hand shielded my face from the shreds of glass. I closed my eyes, welcoming the breeze whipping against my body.

The timpani of bullets still raged beneath us, but we were detached from them. To my slipping mind, the shower of bullets sounded like nothing more than the rain against my windowpane.

Somewhere between the subconscious and reality, I sat before my windowpane. My eyes were focused unmoving on a single raindrop as it slipped down the glass. Its way was dangerous, riddled with many obstacles. All at once, it was joined by another raindrop, and together they made their way down the pane, conquering the obstacles as they went.

The sleep that followed was feverish, but mercifully dreamless. I woke up again and again. Those warm callused hands chased me through the dark, holding me fast to a world I was eager to leave. Salves and liquids assailed my body, tingling sensations that crept along my skin and banished sharp pains to dull aches. I flickered like a candle in the wind, and I think that I was several times in danger of going out altogether.

But every time, those hands pulled me back with a gentle tug.

Eventually I grew conscious enough to open my eyes. A glass was lifted to my lips, filled with a pink fluid that smelled something like grass. I realized that I was incredibly thirsty; I gulped the liquid down without question.

Sleep filled me immediately after, a merciful shroud that shielded me away from my anguish. I fell through layers of slumber, each pulling me farther and farther from my pain. I wanted to stay there forever, wrapped in the warmth and security of that deepest sleep. But the hands came again, touching me with an almost maternal care. A soft voice whispered to me, calling out time and again a name I did not recognize. It was persistent, and finally I gave up my paradise and returned to reality.

I was alone. Teal sheets covered the bed I rested in. The sheets were stained with blood…_my blood_, I realized slowly. I quickly shifted my gaze to survey the rest of the room. It was a small bedroom. The bed I inhabited had been shoved into the corner. There was a window inserted in the wall to my left, revealing the brick wall of a neighboring building, the image of which was interrupted by the stark form of a tree. Another window was behind me, farther down the wall. This one permitted me a glimpse of the street below. It was raining outside, and the huge droplets pooled on the cold glass. The walls were the same teal the sheets were, and they were decorated with faded posters of long-extinct rock bands. The shelves around the room and the drawers of a nearby dresser had been speedily emptied, and a few out-of-date outfits hung out of them. Macbeth and Richard III sat discarded on one of the shelves beside an empty picture frame.

Across the room in front of me, a wooden door stood open to a modest kitchen. The floral wallpaper had been ripped in places to reveal the hearts that had previously decorated the room. I adjusted my eyes to my right, where another door stood closed.

I sighed. I was up to my waist in some pretty deep shit.

I tried to get up, and found instantly that it was impossible. I managed to sit up, and even that caused me to pant for air. My head swam, but soon my vision cleared and I was able to control my breathing.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a door being slammed. I sat up rigidly and turned toward the sound, which had been replaced by the stamp of footfalls. There was the smack of something hitting the floor, some foul language, and then the door handle to my left was being turned.

A boy stepped into the room, glaring darkly at the spilled contents of a brown paper grocery bag. I recognized him at once as the boy who had saved my life last night…or was it last night? I had no recollection of how much time had passed.

I was pulled back to the moment as the boy's nose twitched and he looked up at me. "So…you're awake," he said slowly. I think he was trying to sound venomous, but I could detect a hint of relief in his voice. He looked away again and began to recollect the items.

"Where are we? Who are you? Why did you save me? How much time has passed since then? Where's Souta? What's going on?" I asked quickly, my questions coming out in a rush. He raised his hand to stop the flow of questions, and continued to moodily pick up his groceries.

When he had finished with that, he walked over the kitchen. He came back a moment later, and his golden eyes were as cold as they had been when he saw Fukouka. "You've been out for three days. And don't play stupid, Kikyo."

It took me all of five seconds to soak in what he had just said. "Wh-what did you call me?"

He rushed forward so quickly that I barely had time to think. I hit the wall hard, pain shooting through my body. My hands flew to my neck, where his hand had wrapped around my windpipe. "What are you doing?" I gasped, desperate to get air into my lungs. The cut on my side was bleeding again, and I could see the new blood staining the wall.

He lowered his face to mine so that our noses were almost touching. "Why are you still alive!" he howled. At that moment, he sounded more like the one in pain than the one inflicting it. My heart leapt in my chest, and I felt the sudden, strange urge to apologize. "I saw you die. I was soaked in your blood. They blamed me for it…

'You ruined my life, Kikyo."

I dug my nails into the flesh of his arm, trying to rip his hand from my throat. "B-but I'm not K-Kikyo!" I cried. Moisture slipped down my cheek, a mixture of sweat and tears. The pain in my side was so unbearable I thought I would either die or vomit.

"Feh!" he spat. "Very funny. You're _not_ Kikyo, right. I had forgotten. What's this week's flavor, mm? Yuki from Osaka, Mae from Kyoto?"

"No, no!" I shouted. "My name is-"

He leaned in even closer, so that I could feel his warm breath on my neck. A shiver tickled my lower back. He smelled like night, forests, earth, cigarette smoke, and a hint of spice. "No matter who you pretend to be, I can see through your disguise. I can smell it, Kikyo. Did you really think I'd forget your-"

He jerked back like he'd been burnt. I landed back on the bed with a soft plop, rubbing my neck and watching him. He looked profoundly confused, like a deer in the headlights. "Y-you're not Kikyo…!"

I gave him the dirtiest look I could muster. "Like I was trying to say, my name is Kagome. Ka-Go-Me!"

The boy ran a hand through his hair and looked at me awkwardly. Finally, he turned away. "Should've known. Kikyo was much cuter."

I wanted to give him a roundhouse punch to the head, but at the moment, I just felt drained. So, I decided to accept this as an apology. "You're forgiven."

He shot me dirty look, though he was much subdued. "I didn't ask for forgiveness," he reminded me.

I bristled upon impact and started saying the first thing that came to my mind. "I know who you are now," I growled. "You're that- that Inu-something guy. You're the one who killed the seventeen-year-old girl! If I took you to the cops right now, they'd give me a billion yen reward, you know. Maybe even more!"

The boy was startled for a moment, but then he just looked sad. "Inuyasha," he breathed.

"Pardon?"

"My name is Inuyasha. And I didn't kill her. The Go- someone else did it." He walked over to the bed and sat down. "And you wouldn't go to the cops, because the instant you did, they'd turn me _and _you over to the Government."

I went limp at the mention of the Government. "Why are they after me?" I wondered aloud.

Inuyasha shrugged. After a few moments of silence, he said in a soft voice, "What are you going to do now, girl?"

"Kagome," I reminded him. His blank look told me without a doubt that he couldn't care less what my name really was. I decided to answer his question. "I don't know," I said truthfully. "They know where I live, so I can't go home…"

Inuyasha blinked. "Did they come to your house?"

I tried to respond, but found my voice blocked by unexpected sobs. I quickly brushed them aside, saving them for a later, more appropriate time. "Yeah," I said shortly. Silence. "Inuyasha…"

"Hmm?"

I took a deep breath before I dove. "I want to get those bastards back for what they did. I want to save my family."

Inuyasha's eyes widened. Maybe he detected the curse that was foreign to my tongue. It's strange: now that I think about it, I never used to curse. Not unless I was extremely pissed or in a life-threatening situation, that is. Now, every other line contains some form of explicit language. I guess that comes from too many hours with Inuyasha. Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Anyway, Inuyasha's eyes widened. It's a miraculous thing to see those bright golden eyes widen. It's sort of like seeing the sun unfurl itself from a blanket of clouds. "And how do you plan to do that?"

I blushed furiously. I used to be a real shy kid, especially when I was asking someone for their help. "I was kind of hoping that you would…um…"

"Yes?" He cocked one eyebrow. Y'know, this is a kind of strange fact about Inuyasha: he's got white hair and black eyebrows. Now, you wouldn't think this is strange on any normal human, 'cause white-haired people have usually had their hair dyed, or they're just old. But Inuyasha's special. He's a natural whitie, and he's definitely not old, but he still pulls off white hair and black eyebrows. Yeah, I'm still trying to figure this one out.

"I thought that you might help me," I said quickly. His face generated no response, so I prattled on even faster. "I mean, you certainly _seem _to hate the Government. And if you could get us out of that mess with those Government men without being blown to pieces, you must have some kind of wild powers, right? I can kind of handle a gun-- at least, I put on the safety and stuff…and my aim's not…_terrible_. And you could teach me whatever I've got to know. So…"

"Fine, yeah, sure."

"What?" His bluntness made me blink.

"I said: Yeah, I'll help you, kiddo."

"Kagome," I corrected him. Then I quickly corrected myself and bowed by head. "And thank you!"

Inuyasha just shrugged.

My eyes connected with his baseball hat. It took him a minute, but he noticed the direction of my gaze and quickly started for the kitchen. "Wait!" I called.

"What do you want now?" He was pretty bad at passing his nerves off as exasperation.

I pointed at the hat. "What do you keep under there?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and squared off to face me. "The same thing everyone else does: my head."

"Lemme see."

"No," he said at once.

My turn to raise an eyebrow. And, incidentally, I have black hair and black eyebrows. "What? Do you have really bad hat hair or something?"

"Um…yeah." He was nervous. I could tell. I could read this guy like a book. So, I decided to have a bit of fun.

"You don't sound too sure about that, super dog," I teased. Actually, Inuyasha's name is one of the funniest names I've ever seen.

"What do you know?" he snapped.

"Just show me," I proposed kindly while making a playful swipe.

"No," he replied, ducking out of my grasp.

"Take it off!" I ordered, swiping with more fervor now.

"No!" he was shouting now.

"What's the big deal?" I yelled, grabbing for it again and again and continually being unsuccessful. "What do you have under there, dog ears!"

That one line was the beginning of a very interesting series of events: 1. He froze. 2. My hand hit his hat. 3. I pulled it free, trumpeting with glee. 4. My eyes connected with his ears. 5. I gasped. 6. I dropped the hat. 7. I screamed.

His hand went instantly to my mouth. "Quiet!" He hissed, looking over his shoulder for any indication that someone had heard my scream. As he did this, the two white dog-ears on the top of his head swiveled around.

When no one came, he looked back at me. "You good?"

I nodded slowly, doubting myself whether or not I was really good.

"Are you sure?" The dog-ears twitched.

I nodded again, holding back the urge to squeal in delight. Once you get used to them, those ears are pretty cute.

His hand fell away.

"What are you?" I asked.

"A hanyou," he spat. "A stupid, weak hanyou."

"H-hanyou?" I stuttered in disbelief. "As in: the offspring of a human and a youkai?" He nodded. "You mean you guys actually exist!"

His face tightened. "There aren't many, but yeah, we exist. Most of us are in hiding." He looked at the window, out into the rain-soaked street below. "Someday… someday though, I'll be a real youkai."

His eyes darted to my face. They were lit with impassioned electricity. "That's why I fight the Government-- to get that thing that will make me a real youkai."

I smiled at him, and he seemed to be surprised by the gesture. But slowly, his own smile grew on his face. It was one of those moments…it was rare and priceless. I will never forget that smile.

"I'm ready," I announced, holding out my hand to him. "Are you?"

He looked at my hand, then surrounded it with his own warm, callused palm. We shook firmly, and our smiles grew. "Let's go kick some Government ass."

I must have overexerted myself during our conversation, because the next moment I was out like a light.

- Ichimu


	3. Minuet

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or anything to do with that company's marketing. Thank you.

Author's Notes: Sweet, the third chapter has arrived! Ok. This was fairly difficult to conduct because I wrote two different versions of this chapter, ended up liking something from each, and spent awhile pulling the two together. So, I'm sorry if it seems a little choppy here and there.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. Keep up the great work and I'll do the same (although greatness is subjective in my case). I'll be gone for 6 weeks with NO INTERNET CONNECTION! So, you'll have to forgive another huge gap in updates. I hope everyone's having a great summer so far!

Chapter 3, Minuet

Way back in junior high, I used to hang out with this girl named Romi. Romi was pretty with purple and white streaks in her short black hair. She always wore make-up to school even though it wasn't allowed, and used to fight with our teachers about it. I think that's why I wanted to be her friend: I admired her spunk. She used foul language, reeled in the junior high boys like they were the catch of the day, and was never afraid to speak her mind. She also used to smoke.

I remember standing with her after school by the vending machines down the street and watching her light up. I loved watching her, because she had such a gentle, feminine way of lighting her cigarette. I couldn't explain it to you if I tried; it's too complex. Then we'd stand there and talk about teachers, or classmates, or tests, or nothing at all.

Most of the time, I'd just stand there and breathe in the smoke's heady fumes. One time Romi asked me if I wanted to try a puff. I did, and I coughed for fifteen minutes straight afterwards. Romi laughed I told me I wasn't supposed to swallow the smoke. She demonstrated, then offered her cigarette again, but I didn't want another go. I never smoked again after that.

Romi got accepted into Tokyo's top high school. I went over her house to celebrate with her, but her mother told me she hadn't come home yet. I waited for an hour or so, and then left. The next day I learned that a car had hit Romi on her way home from the library.

I went to the funeral. They had to keep the casket closed because Romi wasn't in any condition to be seen. Her mother cried through the whole ceremony while her father sat close-by, his face devoid of emotion. The whole time, I kept thinking about a conversation that Romi and I had shared when we first started hanging out together.

_"Romi?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"You know, smoking's really bad for you. You can get cancer. Doesn't that kind of make you want to quit?"_

_Romi looked at me, and slowly she began to laugh. She took another drag on her cigarette and then threw the butt away. She watched it as it arched through the air and hit the cement. "Cancer? Nah, I'm not going to die of cancer. Something's going to get me long before cancer can develop."_

_"Oh," I said, looking at my feet. "How can you tell?"_

_Romi winked. "Because I can tell the future, my friend."_

_I made a face. "Nah, you can't do that."_

_Romi smiled indignantly. "'Course I can! And I can tell you right now, Kagome: you and I are different from other people. We're meant for the lives of the fast and furious. We're like wildfire-- we blaze brightly, changing the world that surrounds us, and then we're gone. Gone, just like a puff of smoke on the wind."_

I've always loved the smell of smoke. It was this smell that I woke me up after my first encounter with Inuyasha. "Hello?" I asked. My voice fell flatly on the air, and vanished shortly after leaving my lips.

A stream of smoke issued forth from the shadows in the far corner. "Hello?" I questioned the thick shadows. "Is someone there?"

There was no answer.

"Hello?" I called a little louder, panic tickling my arms and legs and forming goose bumps. Could this be a Government detainment center? The mere thought was too terrifying, and I pushed it away. "Please, is anyone there?"

"Goddamn it, woman, why don't you scream a little louder, huh?" said a voice from the shadows. In the shadows, the end of a cigarette lit up, illuminating a face framed by silver hair. Two golden eyes shone brilliantly in the fickle light, and then dulled as Inuyasha stepped out of the darkness. "Do you wanna wake up all of Tokyo?"

"Inuyasha…" I said sighing in relief. So it wasn't a Government detainment center after all. "Where are we?"

"You're in the basement level of MIS Hospital, Tokyo," he explained with a casual flick of his cigarette. He blew a stream of the suffocating smoke into the air, trying to, and succeeding it, looking pretty cool.

"H-hospital?" I repeated shakily, a tightness forming in my chest.

"Yeah," Inuyasha replied, raising an eyebrow at my unusual reaction. "After you passed out, I brought you over here to have my buddy take a look at you. She founded the place, and she's the best doctor I know of. Anyway, your injury turned out to be worse than I initially thought, and you had to get a bit of surgery."

"Surgery?" I squeaked.

"Stitches."

I felt as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over my head. I had an extreme fear of hospitals, and more specifically, the operating table. I had watched my father die on an operating table, watched the heart monitor slow, watched his eyes lids flutter rapidly until they closed forever. As if sensing my distress, Inuyasha stepped forward and knelt beside me. "Hey." He extended a clawed hand to examine my forehead. "Are you ok?" He checked my pulse, which by that time was most likely racing. "Sango!" he called in a loud voice. "Sango, get your butt in here!"

Immediately, the shoji slid open and Sango entered. It occurred to me at the moment that she was ghastly pretty. She had long brown hair that she wore in a ponytail on top of her head. Her scrubs fit her feminine frame in a very flattering manner, accenting her wide hips, tiny waist, and broad chest. She cut the air as she crossed to my bedside, moving like a falcon through high winds. She knelt down beside me and pulled out a syringe. I screamed—more than anything, I am deathly afraid of needles.

Inuyasha quickly covered my mouth. "Whoa, girl. Calm down."

I struggled against his hold, and he was forced to hold down my arms and legs so I couldn't hurt them. I was scared as shit. Sango grabbed my left arm forcibly, and turned it up. The syringe got closer and closer to my arm, and I struggled ever harder.

"Sh," Sango soothed, stroking my hair. "This won't even hurt, Kagome-chan, and in a minute, you'll be asleep."

If she meant that statement to be calming, she was going in the wrong direction. I have a chronic fear of mood-changing drugs, and I can't stand the thought that some medicine can knock me out like a light whether or not I want it to. I screamed again. The syringe pierced my skin, and a moment later, my limbs were numb and useless.

Inuyasha sat back in relief. Sango sighed and retracted the syringe. I couldn't feel anything, but I was still shaking. Sango touched my forehead and whispered something I couldn't understand. Inuyasha answered in his gruff tone. My head felt like a balloon, and I fancied I could lift off the ground and fly away into the air. I went up and up until I was in space.

When I came to, Sango was sitting beside me, cleaning her hands. They were full of blood, my blood. I wanted to throw up, but my stomach was empty. She noticed the direction of my gaze, and quickly hid the offending limbs.

"How are you feeling?" she asked after her hands had been cleaned.

I shrugged. I felt like shit, to be frank, but I didn't want to offend her. My side did, admittedly, no longer pain me, so what did I have to complain about? "What's your prognosis, doc?"

"Sango," she answered.

"Hmm?"

"My name is Sango, if you please."

"Oh, yeah, ok, sure," I said quickly, coloring. It had been extremely rude of me to address her in that manner, after such a brief acquaintance. "I'm Higurashi Kagome, but Kagome's fine. Or even Kagome-chan," I added, recalling that she had referred to me in that manner while trying to calm me down.

Sango smiled. "And you may call me Sango-chan, if you should so choose." I smiled in response, though I knew it would be difficult to refer to someone several years my elder in that manner. As if she were thinking of the same thing, Sango asked, "How old are you, Kagome-chan?"

"Fifteen," I whispered. Fifteen was a magic number in Tokyo. In other parts of the world, fifteen was a time for fickle crushes, for getting driving permits, for discovering the joys of adolescence, but not here. No, where I'm from, fifteen is the last year a girl is allowed to live with her parents. On her sixteenth birthday, she is turned out to fend for herself.

She can continue in school if she should choose, and the Government will pay a small annual fee for that. In return for paying tuition, the girl is then entered in the Government's service as soon as she graduates from high school. If she is lucky enough to get married, she is absolved from such duties, and allowed to live under her husband's protection and income.

For boys, the magic number is eighteen, and then they are all expected to serve two years in the Government's army before they are released back into the world. I suppose this is a way that the blasted Government controls the population, as many of these young men and women die in a world that is uncaring for their troubles. It is also a great way for them to recruit people into their service, and the boys who prove themselves most capable are taken into one of the seven sectors and honed in ancient arts.

I closed my eyes because my disgust for the Government at that particular moment was overwhelming. When the wave had passed over me, I looked again at Sango. "How old are you, Sango-chan?"

"Seventeen," she answered, looking away.

I was astonished, as I was sure she had to be older than that. A doctor so accomplished, how could she possibly be so young? And I knew that she could not be affiliated with the Government, or else Inuyasha would never have brought me here. "You're married then, are you?"

Sango blinked, looking as though she was trying to hold back a wellspring of emotion. "No," she answered in soft, shaky voice. "No, I'm not married." She collected her supplies and moved toward the door. When she reached it, she looked back at me. "Your prognosis: You shouldn't leave this room yet, but I suspect you'll recover enough to move around freely in a few days time. Your stitches have been removed, and all that you require is time to recover." She paused momentarily, her eyes traveling to the impenetrable shadows to her left. "You may direct the rest of your questions at Inuyasha." With that she left.

I was confused momentarily, until Inuyasha emerged for those afore mentioned shadows. "Hey," he grunted.

"Hi," I said uncertainly.

"Well."

"Yeah?"

"That was quite some fright you gave us before. You were acting like a justifiable loony, you know."

"My dad died on the operating table," I explained.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

It was one of those awkward conversations, and Inuyasha was eager to break the rhythm of it, as was I. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. A thick stream of smoke escaped from his lips, obscuring all his features with the exception of his golden eyes. I momentarily had the impression that he looked an awful lot like one of the dragons that appeared in my grandfather's art collection. Inuyasha coughed, and I spared myself a silent chuckle, recalling my first encounter with a cigarette. He saw my look, and, misinterpreting it, offered me a cigarette. I shrank away from it. "No, thank you," I said softly.

Inuyasha shrugged and put his pack of cigarettes away. "So," he said, sitting down beside my futon.

"So, what happens now?" I asked. "Don't forget our promise."

"Of course," Inuyasha answered immediately. "That's why I've been thinking a lot lately. I've been trying to decide what you can do."

"I'll do anything to help," I said quickly.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Be careful of comments like that, girl. They can get you into trouble someday."

I disregarded this statement, my mind on the more imminent issue of what I would be doing in order to help my family get free from the Government. "So, what can I do?"

"Nothing yet," he admitted. "You're going to need quite a bit of training before we can get you out onto the field. I know just the man for that…" He let the comment hang, and his eyes flashed to my face, piercing yet comforting at the same time. "What we need to decide now is how to keep _you_ from sharing your family's fate."

"Oh."

"You're not going to be able to go home again," he said softly. "And we'll probably have to change your name."

"Like an alias?" I asked, dodging the emotions tied to his first statement.

"Probably something more permanent…and legal…"

I raised an eyebrow. Permanent? Legal? "What are you talking about?"

Inuyasha sighed and rose to his feet. He began to pace. "You're fifteen, right?"

"Yeah," I said slowly.

"Got anyone in mind? Are we going to be hearing wedding bells soon?" He asked, his golden eyes fixed on my face, waiting for an answer.

"Certainly not!" I exclaimed, thinking at once of marrying that bumbling idiot Hojo. The very thought of it gave me a headache. "Not that it's any of you business anyway!"

"Then were you planning on continuing high school and joining the Government's forces afterwards?" He continued, ignoring my outburst.

"It was only going to be for a little while…" I said. Now, what had seemed like such a good idea made me ill. Working for the Government? For the very people who had taken my family from me? Never. Never again.

"I suppose that idea's been scraped."

"I should say so," I said at once.

"Then, you'll have to get married," he pressed.

I froze. A trap. The Government had put me in a trap. I obviously couldn't work for them, but it was true that I had no plans for marriage in the hear future. They must have known that when they attacked my house. If I didn't get married, they would find me on the street, and if I went back to school, I would walk right into their hands. And a marriage would only be a surer way of securing me. It wouldn't be very hard for them to enlist agents for me to meet while shopping or walking: charming, attractive men who would sweep me off my feet and carry me right into the Government's clutches. I would never be safe from the opposite sex ever again. "Inuyasha!" I gasped, overcome with sudden terror for my plight.

"Calm down, girl," he said. "We're not about to let you marry a Government agent."

"Then…how?"

Inuyasha screwed up his face and looked away from me. "Well, you could marry me."

My eyebrows shot past my hairline. "You!" I exclaimed before I could help myself. His eyes shot to my face and I quickly fought to regain my calm. "Marry you?"

He pursed his lips, threw away his cigarette, and lit another. "It would be a business arrangement only," he said in a very calm voice that discouraged any emotion. "I would never take advantage of the marriage bonds, and once this whole ordeal is over, you're free to marry whomever you so desire."

I could hardly breathe. _This is preposterous_, I kept telling myself. Marry Inuyasha? Accept the wedding vows and enter his house under his name? At the same time, I was humbled by the proposal, however unconventional it was. Inuyasha was offering me the ultimate form of protection from the Government: so long as I was with him, the Government couldn't touch me. How could I look such a gift horse in the mouth? "I accept," I whispered with a dry throat.

Inuyasha didn't say a word. He looked me over once with those beautiful, luminous golden eyes, nodded, and then walked from the room. Alone at last, I sighed and shrank into my futon. Rolling over, I closed my eyes and tried not to think about all that had happened since my family had been taken. I wondered what my family was doing at that moment. I wondered if they knew that I was going to be a bride, even though I knew that that was impossible. I wondered if my dad was looking down at me from heaven, and knew how frightened I was. I fell asleep imagining I could feel his arms around me.

I don't remember much about the wedding. It was a traditional Japanese wedding. I wasn't permitted any guests, as Inuyasha wanted to sever all of my ties to that other life. Sango was there, along with a handsome young man with jet-black hair and amethyst eyes. The man introduced himself to me after the wedding, but I couldn't remember his name by the time we got back to Inuyasha's apartment.

As we opened the door to my new home, I stopped in the doorway. Inuyasha, noting my hesitation, turned to me.

"There's no food in the house," I said in a voice that sounded very weak and even alien. "I'll have to go shopping. What would you like for dinner?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Whatever you feel like cooking."

"Ramen it is," I said, forcing a smile. I turned away quickly so Inuyasha wouldn't see the tears that had begun streaming down my cheeks, but I know that he did. As I reached the top of the stairs, I crumbled against the wall and began bawling. If someone had told me a week earlier that I would be crying on the stairs after marrying an indifferent stranger, I would have laughed in their face. Right then, all I could think of was much I wanted my mother.

Twenty minutes later, Inuyasha came out of the apartment, scooped me up, and carried me back inside. We had ramen for our matrimonial feast and I fell asleep in Inuyasha's room while he slept on the couch in the living room.

- Ichimu


	4. Requiem: Libera me

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or anything to do with that company's marketing. Thank you.

Quick Translations:

Domo (doh-moh) – in this case, it's used as thank you

Shi (shee)—one word for four, this word also means death

Author's Note: Yay! The fourth chapter has arrived! About time, huh? Oh well, I can't help it. Music school was INCREDIBLE, if you wanted to know. I'm sure you could care less. You're all sitting there saying, "Get on with the chapter, damn it." Well, I won't make you wait any longer. At last, the fourth chapter of Project Armageddon:

Chapter 4, Requiem: Libera me

I am the enemy you killed, my friend.

I knew you in this dark; for so you frowned

Yesterday through me as you jabbed and killed.

I parried; but my hands were loath and cold.

Let us sleep now…

- _Strange Meeting_, Wilfred Owen

After that first day, things began to improve. It wasn't a drastic change, but it was enough to make me complacent. The morning after the wedding, I woke up to find a fresh set of clothes spread out on the bed. More had been stuffed into the dresser drawers. I recognized them at once—they were all my clothes. I slipped into a comfortable outfit and ran into the kitchen. Inuyasha was there, pouring himself a bowl of Wheaties.

"You went back?" I exclaimed before I could help myself.

"Alright, alright, don't hurt yourself," Inuyasha said, raising his hands to pacify me. Then, he deflected any gratitude I might express by saying, "It was really Sango's idea to go back for some of your things."

"But you're the one who went," I pointed out. "So, thank you."

Inuyasha tightened his lips and looked away. "Feh."

I smiled and sat down across from him. He pushed the box of Wheaties in my direction, but I refused. "Good, then get on your feet," he said curtly. He grabbed a set of keys from the table.

"Where are we going?" I asked at once.

"To meet Sango." He walked out the door, not waiting for me to go through first. Quite the gentleman, that Inuyasha. We were in the living room again. I looked around briefly. I hadn't really gotten a good look at the living room, but Inuyasha wasn't in the mood to give a tour. He kept walking, setting a brisk pace so that I had to jog in order not to be left behind. We descended the stairs of the apartment building and walked out onto the street.

"Where are we meeting Sango?" I asked, gasping for air as I caught up to him. My side was irritating me even though the wound had closed up a few days ago. I clutched it as we went.

"Are you already tired, girl?" Inuyasha said, raising an eyebrow at me. "Maybe you're more trouble than you're worth after all."

I puffed out my cheeks in frustration. Inuyasha wasn't going to put up with anything that even sounded like complaining. So, I would just have to make due. I was determined to prove my worth to the hanyou.

After a few blocks, Inuyasha turned onto a perpendicular street that led back into the heart of Tokyo. I shrank back in surprise, remembering I had come down this same street with Souta just days before. If Inuyasha noticed my distress, he gave no indication; I was forced to keep going. We walked and walked, and I got more and more agitated as we went. A swell of emotions worked at the lining of my stomach; I fought the urge to throw up.

We finally stopped. We were at the edge of a small park. A bench and a trashcan stood like sentinels near the entrance. Both were covered with graffiti. Inuyasha positioned himself at the bench and sat. After a few moments, I sat next to him. Neither of us spoke for a very, very long time.  
"Ano, Inuyasha?"

"Sh, stupid girl," Inuyasha snapped.

I shut my mouth tight and looked around. It was a fairly nice day. The sky was clear and blue. People passed by in small groups. Some of them were leading small children. Some of them smiled. Inuyasha grunted at these people, and they quickly moved along. Hours passed. My stomach rumbled hungrily. I tried to be discreet about it, but Inuyasha noted my discomfort regardless.

"You hungry?" he asked, his ears twitching.

"Hmm?" I looked up embarrassedly.

Inuyasha's golden eyes narrowed in annoyance. He surveyed the crowd critically. "I asked you: are you hungry?"

"A bit," I admitted sheepishly, pushing a leaf around with the toe of my converses.

"Wait here," Inuyasha said, standing up. "Don't talk to anyone. If someone approaches, don't make eye contact. You'd be surprised at how well it works. If you recognize anyone, I don't care if they're your first-grade teacher or a Government pawn, hide yourself. I'll be back in a few minutes." He was off before I could protest.

I shrank back into the bench, trying to make myself as small and insignificant as possible. I imagined that I was invisible. As I disappeared, I watched the people walking by. No one seemed to notice me. Maybe I really was invisible. I picked out a small woman and glared at her. She turned around, but didn't seem to see me. Maybe I had worked it out! I smiled smugly to myself.

"Hello, is this seat taken?"

I jumped several feet and looked up into the face of a handsome young man. He was smiling warmly. He had black hair and the most amazing amethyst eyes I'd ever seen. He seemed faintly familiar… I was momentarily stunned, and then quickly began trying to ignore him. It was impossible that he could be talking to me. I'm invisible!

"Excuse me? Miss?" he questioned politely, his smile not faltering for an instant.

"Damn," I muttered under my breath. I had failed Inuyasha; I was simply no good at ignoring people. Still, what harm could this young man possibly be? "Yeah, go ahead. Sit if you like."

The man sat. "Domo," he said.

I looked away. My eyes raked the crowds for Inuyasha's face. I wished that he would hurry up and get back with the food. I was starving, and I was overly conscious of the fact that people were noticing me again.

Suddenly, I felt the prick of cold steel against my throat. I froze instantly, and my eyes flickered to the man sitting beside me on the bench. He was smiling still, but his amethyst eyes were cold. To the passerby, it would appear that he was simply resting his arm on my shoulder, but they were not feeling the bone-chilling point of his dagger. "Don't move," he advised in a flat, emotionless voice that was nothing like the one he had been using moments before. "Don't make a scene."

"What do you want?" I asked, pretending to be looking through my bag for something. The bag was actually Inuyasha's; I hadn't had time to grab anything from the apartment. My fingers closed around a pack of cigarettes. A moment later, I had a lighter. Barely thinking, I took out a cigarette and the lighter.

"Why, thank you. I would love a smoke," the man said cheerfully, taking the cigarette and lighter from me and lighting up. "Would you care to go for a walk?"

I got to my feet shakily. The hand with the dagger slipped around my waist. My face burned with embarrassment and fear. "Where to?"

"Leave the bag, behind, Higurashi Kagome," he said under his breath. I dropped it at once, my blood turning to ice as he said my name. Still, if this Government agent was using my maiden name, it meant that the Government did not yet know about my marriage to Inuyasha. So, at least Inuyasha was safe—which was more than I could say for myself. "We're going into the park."

"Sure," I said, as sweetly as I could manage. Visions of violence, blood, and guns flashed rapidly behind my eyelids. I was shaking all over. We began to walk.

We stepped into a secluded grove. It was the kind of place you would normally catch kids sneaking to in order to share a kiss. I only wished that our business in this grove was half so light-hearted and silly. I looked up into the face of my captor. It didn't look like a cruel face, but the ice in his eyes told me otherwise. I wondered how such a kind face came by such an evil look. I wondered if he practiced it in front of his mirror at night and dreamed of the day he would be able to use it on someone. The knife stayed at my back.

"Alright now. I want you to know first that I fully intend to kill you. Do you doubt it?" I did not. "But before I do that, I want some information. What do you know about a man named Inuyasha?"

"Who?" I asked. I wanted to be as helpful as possible, but if he planned on killing me anyway, what was the point in telling him anything?

The dagger got closer to my back. I heard the sound of a gun being cocked. My captor stopped, and the dagger point weaved through the fabric of my light sweater. "Let her go, Miroku," demanded Inuyasha from behind us.

"Inuyasha!" I breathed in relief.

The man named Miroku released me at once. I ran over to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha!" I exclaimed, running into his arms. "I was so frightened!"

Inuyasha pushed me away at once. I looked up at him in confusion. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Pull yourself together, you big baby," he said with disdain. "Miroku's no Government agent."

I stiffened. "What?"

Miroku laughed apologetically. "Sorry about that, Kagome-sama. I'm Takara Miroku—I work with Inuyasha."

I turned around to face him, color rising into my cheeks. "You mean…this was all an act?"

"That's right," Miroku assured me. "Inuyasha and I picked out this meeting place, and then Inuyasha worked everything out so that he would be away when I came. He wanted to see how well you could disguise your presence. I must say, though: I give you full marks for a beginner. Even I was fooled for a moment."

I blinked. I still didn't comprehend all of this. Disguise my presence? A beginner at what? What had I managed to fool him about?

Miroku tried a smile. "I guess it's a little hard to understand, and you probably don't remember me yet. I was at your wedding."

I jumped a bit. I remembered him now. "Oh, the wedding," I muttered, looking back at Inuyasha. "So, you guys worked together? You guys are…_friends_?"

Inuyasha scoffed and Miroku frowned. "I don't have friends," Inuyasha said contemptuously. "Miroku and I fought side by side against the Government, that's all. So, when I took you on, I called in a favor from Miroku. You're going to need training, after all, and Miroku's the best one for the job."

"Oh," I said, though I was still confused. It was probably just nerves. Nerves? Oh my God! I just had a knife against my back! These were my last thoughts as I lost consciousness.

I woke up on the sofa in the living room. There was a glass of water on the table nearby. I took a huge swig and then sat back and tried to collect my thoughts. I must have passed out…again.

"You're awake?" said Miroku as he walked into the living room. He was carrying a tray full of food from the kitchen. Setting it down in front of me, he settled into the armchair across the sitting area. "Look, I'm really sorry about all that crap in the park. If you're still uncomfortable, I can leave."

I brushed a hand in front of my face and took a large bite out my sandwich. " I just can't believe I passed out."

Miroku smiled again. "Well, I can't say I blame you. You were in shock still and you were starving. Anyone else probably would've done the same thing."

"You and Inuyasha wouldn't," I said dejectedly.

Miroku seemed surprised by this statement, but then nodded slightly. "Ah, I see," he said in a soft voice. One hand reached out reassuringly and cupped my left knee. I immediately stiffened, but Miroku took no notice. "Kagome-sama, Inuyasha called me up to train you. By the time I'm done with you, you won't need to worry about stuff like that. I'd be surprised if you needed to worry about even being seen by a Government pawn."

I blinked. "Are you serious? How is that possible?"

"In the same way it was possible for you to become invisible in that crowd today," Miroku said with a shrug.

"I really was invisible?" I exclaimed in astonishment.

"Well, not in the more popular sense of the word. That really is impossible. People don't vanish; instead, they simply evade our senses. It is a highly developed and difficult art, and some people will never be able to achieve it. You, however, are already halfway there."

I didn't know what to say. That is, until I remembered that Miroku's hand was still on my knee. I cleared my throat. He didn't move it. "Ano, Miroku-sama?"  
Miroku looked up at me innocently.

"Get your hands off of her, bouzo," Inuyasha said, walked into the room with fire in his eyes. Miroku's hand was gone at once. Inuyasha crossed the room and collapsed on the coach next. He scooped up one of my sandwiches and shoved it down his throat. "You're going to have to watch out for that, girl," Inuyasha advised. "Miroku has a very large problem controlling his hands."

"The problem runs a little deeper than his hands, I'm afraid," Sango said as she stepped into the apartment. She was dressed in street clothes now, and carrying a large bag around one shoulder. Her long brown hair ran down her back, and a white ribbon struggled to contain it at the ends. She smiled at me and sat as far from Miroku as the seating area allowed.

"Sango-chan?" I questioned in confusion.

"Time for your brief, girl." Inuyasha looked at me squarely. "We've all decided that you're trustworthy and, to some extent, capable of handling the things we're going to be throwing at you."

Sango and Miroku smiled. Inuyasha frowned. I sighed; I had no idea what it was going to take to get this hanyou's trust. He hadn't removed his hat since I pulled it off, even when we were all alone, and he still had yet to call me by my name. As I was pondering this, Miroku's hand found its slippery way down my thigh. Sango's slap rang through the air before I even had time to register just what was going on.

"Anyway," Inuyasha continued with a bored expression that told me that he was used to such situations, "Our names, for the record: Takara Miroku, Kawate Sango, and Masashi Inuyasha. From a young age and for various personal reasons, the three of us were members of the Rebel movement. Our superiors recognized our unique abilities and grouped us together. We were the ultimate killing team. Once we were assigned to a mission, there was no question that it would be completed."

"Ours were the most feared names in all of Tokyo," Miroku muttered. "The Shi, we were called."

"Shi?" I repeated. "But there are only three of you…"

Miroku frowned. Sango shifted uncomfortably. Inuyasha stood up and walked into the kitchen. I watched it all with growing trepidation. "Aren't there?" I asked, lowering my voice. I felt like I was asking a profane question at a church service.

"There was a fourth, Kagome-chan," Sango said in an equally quiet voice. "Her name was Kikyo. She never gave us her surname, and we never asked for it. Many people in the Rebel movement used only their first names, or simply gave out names they themselves had made up. So many people had pasts and homes that were either gone or better off forgotten. We didn't ask Kikyo about her past, about her unique abilities, nothing. We didn't ask her because we never asked anyone. It wasn't important. They were in the Rebel movement because they hated the Government. It was never even taken into consideration that a leak could be sprung so deep in the heart of the Rebel movement's inner-workings."

"But there was, right? Kikyo was the leak?" I asked.

"Yes…yes, Kikyo was the leak," Sango said sadly, hanging her head. She looked over at Miroku, as if pleading him to take up the tale. Miroku nodded.

"But, Kagome-sama, it wasn't as simple as discovering that Kikyo was the leak. Kikyo had been working with us for more than two years. We had collaborated on more than a hundred missions, taking down Government officials, causing unrest in the seven sectors, and the like. Kikyo was as integral to the Shi as any of us, and perhaps more so, because she had the ability to heal wounds at an accelerated rate.

"By this time," Miroku continued, "the Shi had become so powerful and feared that our superiors decided that we were ready. We were given the biggest mission of our entire career: a direct attack on President Naraku himself. We spent months working on the mission, putting together all the little cogs and pieces so that the machinery of our assignment would run smoothly. Everything seemed to be working out perfectly; the Government was easing into our carefully laid trap.

"The night our mission was to take place, Sango and I arrived as planned. We secured the area and entered, counting on Inuyasha and Kikyo for back-up…but the two of them never came." Something was agitating Sango now. She seemed extremely upset, though she fought to keep her unease out of her pretty face. One hand worked restlessly the fabric over her stomach.

"What happened? Where were Inuyasha and Kikyo?" I asked.

Miroku and Sango looked at one another. "We don't know, Kagome-sama," Miroku said at last. "Inuyasha's never told us. All that we know is that the next morning, Inuyasha's name was all over the news, and Kikyo was dead."

I jumped. So it was true, after all. "And…do I really look like this Kikyo person?"

Sango sighed and reached into her bag. From it, she extracted an official-looking manila folder. "It's from the offices at the heart of the Rebel movement," Sango explained as she noticed the direction of my gaze. "I borrowed it for the purpose of this explanation." She pushed the folder towards me.

I held the folder loosely in my trembling fingers. For some reason, I was shaking all over. I looked behind me at the kitchen door. It was closed and no sound issued from the other side. I wondered if Inuyasha was listening to our conversation…I wondered how he would feel about the file that I held in my hands. He had told me that he hated Kikyo…he had given me every reason to believe that this was so. But if he hated her, why had he gone into the other room?

I looked back at the manila folder. I felt like I was somehow betraying him by opening this folder. What would it prove if Kikyo looked like me? What difference did it make? We were obviously not the same person—the mere thought of working for such a corrupt and disgusting Government made me ill. I tried handing the folder back to Sango. She stared at me blankly.

"Go on, Kagome-chan," she said in a quiet voice.

Biting my lip, I ran my finger along the opening of the folder. The thin, sharp edge cut into my finger pads. I lifted the top half away and lowered my eyes to the picture. I observed the paperclip first, biding my time, building my courage. It secured the picture to a stack of papers that probably contained all the boring facts of Kikyo's life: her age, her hair color, her weight, etc. I followed the paperclip's curvature like a monk follows his mantra. I studied the ribbing like some important artifact uncovered in the tomb of a pharaoh.

Why did I have this overwhelming feeling of dread?

I forced myself to finally look at the picture. What I saw ripped the air from my lungs.

- Ichimu


	5. Missa Solemnis: Kyrie Eleison

Disclaimer: I don't own any Inuyasha themes or characters. Please don't sue.

Author's Note: A little bit more development on the Kikyo- Inuyasha- Kagome arch. I would like for PA to go into that piece of the overall Inuyasha story more than the anime was ever able to. More like the manga chapters that have emerged over the summer. Really touching material, ne? I mean, not that I want this to be wishy-washy. It won't be. This'll probably be one of the softest chapters I'll put up, at least until much later on. I really want to get into the action sequences.

Fortunately, the end of this chapter should be a good segue into the action portion of this story.

Poor Kagome. It must be rough to look so much like someone else. Yeah. Hmm. Kyrie Eleison, for those interested, is Greek for "God, have mercy". It is a traditional piece of the Roman Catholic mass.

If you haven't noticed, my chapter titles are kind of running on a theme.

Some Quick Translations (and then we're off):

Tatami: traditional Japanese floor mats

Ursai: Shut up, in a very fresh manner. Inuyasha is especially fond of this term.

ne: Isn't that so? Or, right? It's used at the end of a statement.

Jou-san: a term used for a youthful woman. Sort of like, "Miss". Only Inuyasha, of course, leaves off the formal "O" (Ojou-san), which would make it a respectful term. I could have used "-chan" to degrade Kagome almost to the level of a child, but something about Inuyasha calling Kagome "-chan" when he won't even say her name yet was weird to me.

Chapter 5, Missa Solemnis: Kyrie Eleison

I didn't know how to act around Inuyasha for days after that. That I looked so much like the woman he hated…I could hardly make myself believe it. At my request, Sango made copies of the document for me. I didn't know what made me ask for it, I could hardly stand to look at her face for more than I few minutes, but I kept the file locked up in a chest that Inuyasha bought for me. After the third night, I took the file out again and began to read all about Kikyo. I wondered at how much of what was set down on the paper was a lie, and how much of it was the truth. But wondering about that always made me wonder why I was reading the file in the first place, so I quickly forgot about it and came to accept everything as half-truths.

Inuyasha didn't know I had it. I was too ashamed to tell him. Seeing my own smile reflected in a face that I knew every contour of, I became insanely quiet and reserved. I don't know what made me this way; I only know that it had everything to do with Kikyo's picture.

Fortunately, my training with Miroku began immediately. The first day I showed up, excited and shaking with anxiety.

"First," said Miroku as I opened the door. We were meeting in the basement of the MIS Hospital. Sango was somewhere upstairs, attending to patients. "First, we will work with fear training."

"Fear training?" I echoed, depositing my bag by the door and meeting him the middle of the floor. Cleared of all items but a tub of water and a medical kit, the room looked more like the dojo that were always being pictured in manga. I felt strange in my jogging clothes and sneakers.

"That's right," Miroku said, nodding. He was dressed in a black t-shirt, stretched over his well-toned torso, and soft black pants. His hands were protected by medical tape. "The enemies you'll be facing from now on will work to expose you to your fears as often as is convenient. So, before you can face the field, you'll learn to harness and control that great, paralyzing human emotion: fear. We'll do fear training for an hour every day, and then an hour will be spent sparring. On Mondays and Wednesdays, you'll have history lessons."

"History?" I repeated in astonishment. "What has history got to do with anything we're trying to accomplish here?"

Miroku smiled and mischievously raised an eyebrow. "For the past fifteen years, you've been learning only what the Government has sent fit to teach you. The first step to liberating the body is to liberate your mind. After you've completed a satisfactory number of history lessons, we'll move to culture."

"Culture?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing!

"How much do you know about Michelangelo? Rodin? Rembrandt? How about Beethoven? Britten? Shakespeare?"

I shook my head somberly; I had to admit, I didn't know much. Miroku smiled kindly upon my shame and slid his hand under my chin. "Don't worry too much, Kagome-sama. When I'm through with you, you'll be the most liberated woman in all of Tokyo."

The statement probably would have carried more meaning if not for the second connotation for the word "liberation", and the fact that Miroku's other hand was resting on my chest. I blushed scarlet and fell back onto the tatami.

Miroku was just as quickly all business once more. He clapped his hands together and walked over to the tub of water. "Now, what are you the most afraid of?"

I told him.

…

"Where are you going?"

I turned around and tried my best to smile at Inuyasha; that morning, Miroku had worked on my fear of hospitals until stabbed him in the shoulder with an IV needle. Two weeks of fear training and history lessons were graining on my nerves. Sparring had given me more bruises than I could count, and, all in all, I was fed-up. I wanted action, but all anyone told me was to be patient. "Grocery shopping," I told him.

Inuyasha frowned. He was leaning against the doorframe, half-haloed by the light issuing from the living room, and half-shadowed by the dark hallway. One golden orb burning, the other freezing. Both were penetrating; I looked away. "You've been avoiding me."

"That's ridiculous," I combated at once, though half-heartedly.

"Ursai," he snapped. "I'm going to the supermarket with you. You'll probably get caught by a Government pawn if you go by yourself, anyway."

"Lay off," I moaned. "I'm trying."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. He crossed his arms over his chest. "You _are _avoiding me. Why?"

"None of your business," I shot back. I regretted it at once. The very fact that I had lashed out defensively was all the proof Inuyasha needed to know that I was hiding something very big from him. I checked myself; Inuyasha could not find out about the file I had on Kikyo. "Come if it suits you." I tried a shrug. It was supposed to make me feel nonchalant, but it only succeeded in making me feel like an even bigger idiot.

"It's cold outside."

"So what?"

"You didn't bring your coat."

My shoulders were, indeed, coatless. We were experiencing the first cold front of fall, and the temperatures had dropped significantly. Schools were experiencing a record absence rate due to the sudden change in weather conditions. I should have been wearing a coat, I knew, but it didn't matter to me at that time. I wouldn't let Inuyasha be right about something else. "Are we getting out of here, or what? The supermarket is closing in another half an hour."

Inuyasha shrugged. It vexed me further that he could shrug so easily and still look so cool. I continued walking down the stairs. He closed the door to the apartment, locked it, and followed me.

The air was bitterly cold outside. I shrank back. Inuyasha raised his eyebrows knowingly. How infuriating! I felt as though I could slap him across the face. I stuck out my chin and determinedly stalked forward into the wind.

…

Oh the way home from the supermarket, the real trouble started. It was dark by then, and I was shivering from head to toe as we walked along the road back to the apartment. Baka, I growled mentally. Baka, baka, baka! I should have just swallowed my pride and taken the dumb coat from Inuyasha. I risked a glance back him. He was watching me, and when he saw me looking, he smiled. He knew he'd won. I almost screamed in frustration. It was too disgusting. "What are you looking at?" I snapped.

"You know, it's pretty cold out here, right?" he asked, smirking.

"You're an asshole." I couldn't believe it. Me, swearing! That baka Inuyasha! He had me so mixed up that I had actually stooped to his level. I shivered and knotted my fists at my sides, trying to tuck them deeper into the sleeves of my sweater.

"Why have you been avoiding me, anyway?" he inquired.

"It's nothing," I said at once. What a stupid thing to say, I berated myself. Saying it's nothing automatically means that it certainly is something.

"When am I going to see the field?" I asked in an effort to change the subject.

"When you grow up and stop whining like a two-year old brat who's still nursing. You have a lot to learn before you're ready to face even the lowest Government crony with a hope of success." Inuyasha was being cool, his tone frank and his eyes unyielding. He was carrying the heavy groceries under both arms, but did not seem to notice the burden at all.

"I feel useless."

"Why's that?" he asked in tone that told me he couldn't care less. Still, I decided to tell him, even if to keep his mind off the file for the moment.

"All Miroku and I really do is play around. I mean, the exposure training is really difficult—facing your fears head on is not the most fun thing in the world. Still, once you get used to it, it gets tedious. The things still scare me, but I'm so tired of that rush of adrenaline. And if they still scare me, what good is it doing?

"Sparring's not a blast, either. Miroku almost always lets me win, and he praises me too often. History's dumb. How's it going to determine the outcome of the battle if I know where my opponent's weapon originated? It's really just basics, and what I want to do is taste some action! I mean, I really should be doing much more important things, you know? My family is rotting in some cell and Miroku's having me stare at needles!"

"Ah, I see," Inuyasha said dryly. "Not enough of a challenge for someone as lofty as you, girl?"

"That's not what I meant," I stammered.

"Then what exactly did you mean when you asked, 'what good is it doing?'" His question was piercing. I refused to answer, but I could feel the blush burning across my cheeks. I hoped he wouldn't see it.

It was silent then. I wanted the silence to go on forever. I picked up the pace, but Inuyasha did not allow the distance between us to increase, so I eventually let my step slacken again. "Why don't we have a car?"

"Protect the environment: walk," Inuyasha said, sneering. "Besides, we don't have the money. As soon as you start bringing in some cash, I'll start thinking about it, princess."

"You think I have time for a job? As if I'm not working hard enough already?" I rounded on him, bristling. Maybe all this anger would help to warm me a little, I thought hopefully. At least it was allowing me a much-needed outlet for my frustration.

"'Hard work?'" Inuyasha mocked uncharitably. "You mean all that 'playing around' you do with Miroku in the basement of the Hospital? Exposure training? Sparring?" He scoffed. "'Basics.'"

"That's not fair!" I argued. How dare he use my own words against me? He knew that wasn't what I meant.

"'Waste of my time', ne, Jou-san? 'I should be doing much more important things'."

"Cut it out, Inuyasha!" I warned. My temper was rising dangerously.

Inuyasha was not done yet. "'My family is rotting in some cell and Miroku's having me stare at needles!'"

My hand whipped out, cutting the freezing cold air to land in Inuyasha's palm. I was stunned by the efficiency of his block, and the weakness of my own attack. Inuyasha's eyes were narrow icicles as he looked down his nose at me. I tried to pull away. He held my hand tighter and forced me to look into those terrifying golden eyes. "Sorry to be wasting your time in trying to get your family back from the Government, Jou-san."

I kicked him in the shins and ran. I sneezed loudly. Then, I sneezed again. Then, sneezed once more. Three sneezes in a row. They left me momentarily drained. I had to stop and catch my bearings. That moment saved my life.

"To your left, girl!"

I spun around and punched the air on my left side. A small knife spun away from the impact and landed on the pavement at my feet.

Inuyasha dropped the groceries and sped off into the night, heading for the direction in which the knife came from. I stood in the cold, shaking, but now it was more than the cold that was making me shake.

One more step and that knife would have taken my life.

Inuyasha returned and stood panting in front of me. A scrap of black cloth hung from his hand. He held it out to me. "Government ninja."

"They've found us," I whispered in horror.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Impossible. The apartment is a Rebel safe house. They don't know we're there—they only got lucky. I scanned the area already; no one else is nearby. A lone ninja might risk such a direct attack on your life, but a group of them would never try anything so reckless."

I looked back at the groceries. Milk and egg white had spilled out onto the pavement and mixed together. "We need more groceries."

"We can go tomorrow," Inuyasha said.

"What will we have for dinner?" I inquired.

Inuyasha smirked. "How does ramen sound to you?"

I sneezed again in response.

…

Sango frowned down at the thermometer. She ran a hand over my forehead and smiled. "Don't worry, Kagome-chan, it's just a little fever. All you need is a day's rest, and then you'll be back on your feet, as good as new."

I nodded. "Thank you, Sango-chan." My head felt like a brick. I was so congested that I felt like I was trying to breathe through a balloon. I laid back against my pillow and shut my eyes. What a chaotic day. "Is Inuyasha angry with me?"

Sango twisted her mouth. "No."

I lowered my eyes and blinked back my emotions. "Is Miroku angry with me?"

"No."

"How about you?"

Sango smiled and squeezed my hand. "No one's angry with you, Kagome-chan. We all understand." I was surprised to hear this. I must have shown it in my face, because Sango laughed. "We all know what it's like to feel trapped—even Inuyasha."

I tried a smile, but it made me feel silly. Could I be forgiven so easily for the things I had said? I hadn't meant them to be so biting, and it wasn't until I heard them coming from Inuyasha's mouth that I even realized how wrong I was. "I'm still…gomen ne."

Sango patted my arm reassuringly. "Get some rest now, Kagome-chan. You can start your lessons again on Monday." She left. I closed my eyes and was soon fast asleep.

I dreamt that night about Kikyo. Or maybe I dreamt about myself. I wasn't sure. I was sitting at the bottom of the staircase of the apartment, fiddling with my purse. The sun poured in through the window. I was wearing a white dress with blue flowers printed on it. My long back hair had been brushed into shimmering perfecting and was lying tamely across my back in a braid. I was waiting. I wouldn't move until whomever I was waiting for arrived.

I took a tube of lipstick from my bag and twisted it open. With the assistance of a small handheld mirror, I applied it. It was a berry color, and flattered my natural color scheme. I smiled at my reflection—but whose reflection, mine or Kikyo's?—and deposited the items back in the bag.

Everything was right. Everything was set. A young man walked by and looked at me. I scowled at him as Inuyasha and Miroku had taught me. Confused, he walked into his respective apartment without pausing to chat.

The front door of the apartment building swung open. Bright sunlight poured though the doorframe, momentarily blinding me. Then, Inuyasha walked in. I looked up at him, silhouetted against the beaming sun. He was dressed in blue jeans and a button-down shirt. His baseball cap was cocked slightly, and the tiniest hint of his left dog-ear disturbed the dome of the cap. He smiled, really smiled. I smiled back. Inuyasha held out his hand. I took it and we walked up to the apartment room together.

Inuyasha opened the door. We walked inside, but suddenly we weren't in the apartment anymore.

We were in an alley. It was nighttime. Brick walls rose up on either side, trapping us. There were red lights everywhere—murderer! They were the signal for a murderer. I looked down. Inuyasha was there, covered in blood. He was glaring up at me with those cold, burning golden eyes. No, no they weren't gold.

They were blue. The deepest, most stunning blue I had ever seen. And his hair was black. Could this really be Inuyasha?

"Kik…yo," he managed. He coughed. He coughed blood.

I woke with a start, shaking all over. A nightmare, I assured myself. But the feeling of terror would not subside. I realized the cause at once: the nightmare had followed me to the waking world, and the danger was far from over. Two strong hands were wrapped around my throat. I couldn't draw breath. I looked up, horrified, into the pain-stricken face of Inuyasha.

- Ichimu


	6. Lullaby

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I, in any material form, profit from posting fan fiction containing its themes and characters. Please do not sue.

Author's Note: I wrote this in a three hour sitting after debating for a week how to execute it. Sometimes, I hate that.

I don't have much to say about this chapter. I'm sorry that Kagome hasn't had much to do but cry and pass out as of yet, and we're six chapters into the story, but character progression takes time. Pretty soon, Kagome will really get on the ball. Maybe the next chapter? Who knows? Not me!

Translations:

Baka- stupid, idiot

Hai- yes

Ee- feminine 'yes', generally a term used among young ladies and interchangeable with 'un'.

Chapter 6, Lullaby

_Inuyasha!_

An electric shock coursed through me. The heel of my hand flew into the air and struck Inuyasha's cheekbone. The feeling of the firm bone against my wrist sent shivers up my spine. Inuyasha's hold on my neck did not slacken. I grabbed a tendril of his silvery mane and tugged with all my might. His jaw dropped, but the insanity in his eyes did not abate.

Insane! Inuyasha was literally out of his mind!

My arm arched over my head and clawed desperately for a solid object. I was running out of air, and I was running out of time. If I didn't find a way to restore Inuyasha to his senses immediately, he was going to kill me! The realization was there, and yet I refused to acknowledge it. It was the fuel for my actions, but I wouldn't let the terror of that statement's implication reach my head just yet. I had to keep my head clear; my thinking had to be sharp. All Miroku's fear training was finally becoming useful.

'Think—respond,' his smooth voice called from the shadows that were forming around my vision. 'Don't feel—react.'

I was reacting. My hand closed around a solid object—a flashlight that had been placed on the windowsill. I didn't feel. I executed a cold, completely heartless thought. I clubbed Inuyasha across the head. He fell away.

Air! I could take it in, taste it. I sucked it in greedily, filling my lungs in senseless disregard to the needs of the rest of the planet. There was a gaping hole in the Ozone layer, but what did I care? For now, there was only the simplest of life functions. Breathe in, breathe out, and quickly, now, more air! More air!

I choked; I had taken too much.

The coughing seemed to alert me to the situation. I sought my attacker. Inuyasha was sprawled across the floor. A thick, red stream of blood was trickling down his forehead, discoloring the silver hair. His golden eyes were half-open and opaque. His breathing was irregular.

"Inuyasha?"

He twitched, but could not seem to manage to make a more significant response to my plea. I crept out of the bed and slid cautiously to the floor. My neck was aching and my throat felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. My tongue was swollen in my head. My head throbbed with a dull yet intense rhythm. There was a sticky, foul taste in my mouth. I was shaking all over.

Don't feel—react!

"Inuyasha? Are you awake?"

There seemed to be a dim response to my voice in the left side of his body.

"If you can hear me, blink."

His left hand shot out. The claws there seared my collarbone and a thin layer of blood spurted forth. I rocked back and began to back away on my hands, not daring to turn my back on him.

"Get back here, Kikyo," he growled in an unearthly voice. I spun around and crawled frantically for the bedroom door. Inuyasha's hand caught my ankle, stopping my progress. "We're not finished talking yet."

"Let go, Inuyasha!" I wailed desperately. "Let go, let go!" I kicked out. My foot connected with his face. He did not release me. I kicked again. His cheek was swollen and blood was dripping from his lip, but he did not let go. _Stay calm_, I kept telling myself. _Stay calm and it will pass._ I forced down the panic.

That was when Inuyasha started laughing.

It was maniacal, and fought its way out of his throat in straggled, garbled bursts that bore no semblance to any laughter I had previously heard. With the laughter, a fresh trickle of blood found its way onto his chin. "You thought I'd die, didn't you, Kikyo? You thought I was gone that night. I saw it in your eyes; you knew I was finished."

"I-Inuyasha!" I pleaded. "Stop! You're hurting yourself! Let me go, I'll go get Sango. I promise, I'll—"

"URSAI!" he screeched. "You stupid, stupid girl. All you can do is talk!"

I responded. With all my might, I planted a kick on his collarbone. He shrank back immediately and I was free. I ran for the door. I didn't bother with shoes or clothing—I had to get to Sango fast. Inuyasha was completely out of his mind! I slipped a little as the ankle Inuyasha had held contacted the floor, but a hall table saved me. I reached the front door and closed my hands around the doorknob.

The hall table that had prevented my fall smashed into the door and shattered into a million tiny splinters. I gasped. Shielding my eyes, I fell back onto the smooth tile of the entrance area. My tailbone protested loudly as I hit the unyielding floor. With laborious pains, I dragged myself to my feet.

Inuyasha's hands grabbed my shoulders and turned me around forcibly. His head wound was bleeding freely, but at least his mouth was no longer leaking the vital fluid. I didn't dare meet his eyes. I knew that I'd find murder in them. I didn't want to see it. I refused to see it!

With a cry, I brought my right around to break Inuyasha's hold and leapt away from him. He pursued at once. I blocked a punch targeted at my head, but the other hand hooked into my hip and threw me off-balance. I fell onto the coach and quickly rolled away.

What was going on? What was happening? Why was Inuyasha acting like this? I had to figure it out soon, or we'd both soon be—No. I refused to think about it. I caught Inuyasha's arm and slid through an opening in his stance to gain his back. If I could hit a pressure point, I had a chance at knocking him out.

Inuyasha was too fast for me, though. He twisted and grabbed me around the waist. With almost dancer-like grace, he lifted me over his head and threw back onto the coach.

"Stop!" I managed before he descended upon me.

Despite my struggling, his hands grappled their way across my shoulders and found my throat. I screamed once and then he was strangling me, stealing my life again. Was this deliberate?

I kicked him in the stomach. His hold slackened, and I pushed his hands away. He slumped against me, momentarily stunned. His head against my shoulder, his warm, blood-scented breath eased along my neck. Still securing his hands with one of mine, my stream of consciousness broke off into a thousand different directions. It was impossible to win in a physical fight; Inuyasha was insurmountable in comparison. His strength was so much more than I had previously considered. He was on top of me now, and I could feel his weight pushing me back down into the cushions of the coach. The muscles of his neck and back worked feverishly against my chest, working to keep the adrenaline rushing, to keep him from passing out. There was only one way I could reach him now.

With conscious effort, in just the way Miroku had instructed me, I released the tap on my emotions and left them to run wild. The subconscious emotional stress of the situation caught up with me all in one moment, and I began to sob uncontrollably. I was wailing, the tears sliding effortlessly down my face.

Inuyasha reacted at once. His breathing slowed, and the tension in his body eased. He did not lift his head, but his muscles no longer struggled against me. Very softly, his voice slid forth from his sticky, bloodstained lips. "Girl?"

"H-hai?" I stammered.

"What-what-?" He couldn't finish the thought.

"You're killing yourself, Inuyasha. You're killing yourself!" I wailed, trying to push him away, as though his was some disease to be caught through proximity. He yielded to my touch, and I slid out from underneath him as icily as I could manage. His eyes were still blank, unrecognizing.

"What the fuck is your problem, baka? Baka!" I shouted. The tears didn't stop. They were racing down my cheeks, hot and humiliating. I pushed them away with the back of my hand. "You were trying to kill me! Screaming at me and calling me Kikyo and—baka! Baka! Baka!" I began to punch him, randomly striking and hitting him repeatedly. It was a terrible, nonsensical thing to do, but I wasn't thinking. I was done thinking. Now, I was just feeling. The punches were like fleas gnawing at an elephant's side, but they contained all my frustration, fear, anger, hate, love, compassion, everything. "Baka!"

Inuyasha caught my hands. "Call Sango," he said in a wispy, ethereal voice.

I nodded and got up to find the phone. The time for my emotional outburst would have to come later—right now Inuyasha's life was on the line.

Inuyasha's hand closed around my wrist. I looked down at him in surprise. It was impossible to feel afraid; Inuyasha could no longer summon the strength to fight me. All that unconquerable strength had fled, deserting him and leaving him as empty and weak as a dried cornhusk. "Are you crying?" he wheezed.

"No," I lied.

"I'm sorry," he whispered just before he closed his eyes.

…

"It was cocaine," Sango was saying. I turned away from the window and smiled politely in order to pretend that I was listening.

"Hmm?"

"Cocaine," Sango repeated. She crossed the office to her desk and laid her bloodstained apron across the back of her chair. Gingerly, she sat down and began taking down abstract numerical data from the session she had just had with Inuyasha. "The crash aspect, most specifically."

I didn't know what to say. I stared at Sango for several long minutes. She stared back. Finally, Sango sighed and tapped the edges of her paperwork against the table.

"Inuyasha is not a coke addict, Kagome-chan," Sango said bluntly. "He does not have a past of recreational drug use. Unfortunately, he is an easy target for the negative side effects of coke. As you can easily imagine, Inuyasha's social life is far from perfect. He's been betrayed countless times, he has no real connections, he's a loner, and his moral climate is in turmoil."

I looked away. I didn't want to hear anymore. He was, after all, the man that I had married.

Sango seemed to sympathize with my reaction. She stood up and came around her desk. Resting against the edge of the desk, she turned my face with her index finger and smiled. "There's a positive side here: Inuyasha did not take that cocaine himself."

"He was attacked?" I asked.

Sango nodded.

"But who would do that?" Well, that was easy enough to answer. The Government wouldn't hesitate to take out an old enemy. But why now? Why, after all this time, were they targeting Inuyasha? I gasped; a sudden, chilling thought had occurred to me. "Is it because of me?"

Sango seemed surprised by my question. She grabbed my hands and crouched before my chair so that we were at eye-level. "No!" she protested. "Kagome-chan, you can't blame yourself."

I had no energy to argue. I just nodded. "So, do we know who did this to Inuyasha?"

Sango straightened up. Her expression had suddenly become quite cold. "That's what Miroku is working on right now." She placed her paperwork in a tray on top of her desk. I couldn't help but feel slightly scathed by her reaction to my question. "Inuyasha's sleeping in the next room, if you want to see him."

I managed some sort of weak response and slipped through the door. We were in one of the main wings of the hospital, not the basement. It was not necessary to hide a mainstream drug abuse case from the public—the MIS Hospital saw thousands of such cases per week. Sango still handled all the therapy herself, and kept Inuyasha's files on her person at all times, but if she began spending too much time in the basement, people would worry.

The staggering smell of antiseptics washed over me. A nurse pushed past, mumbled an excuse, and kept rushing forward. The main wings of the hospital terrified me. White and blue—everything was shiny tile and whitewashed walls. Flowers decorated every available surface in cheerful irony to the sorts of things that went on these places. An old woman sat in the nearby rest area, cooling considering a daisy. I wondered if she was thinking the same thing. I wondered whom she was visiting. I was suddenly filled with the overwhelming need to talk to her, to confide in her, to have someone, _anyone _with whom I could talk!

A group of doctors pushed their way through the length of flooring that separated us, and when I looked again, the old lady was gone. It felt as though a cavernous hole just opened in the pit of my stomach.

I turned away and pushed open the door to Inuyasha's room.

Inuyasha was lying on his back, hooked up to an IV. His life functions were being displayed all over, advertised like some product: come see the living, breathing cocaine container! Leadenly, I walked to his bedside.

"Inuyasha?" I used the same voice my mother had used to open my father's eyes on the hospital bed. It never really woke him up—he was beyond full consciousness, but it was enough to get my father to look into our faces and know us. If he saw us, he would know that we were there. Sometimes, my mother had said, that was all it took.

Inuyasha opened his eyes. The beautiful golden orbs were glassy and filled with a fog, but I could see that he knew me. I smiled, just like my mother would smile into my father's face.

"Hello, Inuyasha," I whispered.

I began to cry. These tears were different from the ones I had shed just hours before. Those tears had been born of desperation and pain. These tears were harsh, determined…cleansing. I wept and wept. The tears rolled down my cheeks. My sobs were shallow and caused my throat to ache even more. I fingered the scarf that I wore around my neck to hide the bruises.

I wanted Inuyasha to wake up from whatever strange limbo-land he had escaped to. I wanted him to tell me why he had tried to kill me. I wanted to know that he hadn't been replaced by a demon…or that he hadn't been that demon the whole time.

_Hanyou._

The word echoed metallically though my head. Hanyou were half-youkai, I knew, but half monster? If he was really a hanyou, wasn't half of him human as well? Was he human at all? Had I given my life over to a monster in order to save my family from the devil himself? I didn't understand what was going on. I was so confused and shaken and scared. I hadn't cried that much since my father died on the hospital bed, his life signs slowly arching away into oblivion while the doctors scrambled about in chaotic waves.

I wanted my father at that moment, as I sat sobbing in my husband's hospital room. I wanted to feel his strong, comforting arms around me. I wanted to crawl into his lap and hear his warm, rich voice recite the stories of Momotaro, the Tortoise and the Hare, and so on. I wanted to see my mother smiling at him, kissing his cheekbone. I wanted to watch Souta and him play ball together. I wanted my grandfather to be arguing with him over taxes. Instead, I was sitting in a hospital room sobbing. My hanyou husband had just made an attempt on my life.

Those tears entered into their own form of eternity.

…

Eventually, the beautiful afternoon died away into the brilliant pallet of sunset. Sango walked quietly into the room and placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's good, ne, Kagome-chan?"

I looked at Inuyasha's face. He was sleeping peacefully. None of the signs of a murderer were in that face. That face was serene, that face was childlike. I remembered the way that face had been twisted just that morning, before the dawn broke. I remembered the face, and I carved it into my memory so that I wouldn't lose it. Even if he had been under the influence of the drugs, that face had been a part of Inuyasha. That face, pain-stricken, maddened, and venomous though it was, was as much a part of Inuyasha as the peaceful face he now wore. And so I made a promise to myself, as I sat there in the dying light of the sterile hospital room: I promised myself that I would be the pathway to this peaceful side of Inuyasha, this calm and tranquil eye in a raging storm.

And I made one more promise, somewhere deep inside where I was only half-conscious of it: I promised that I would discover the truth about Kikyo.

"Ee, Sango-chan," I answered. "It is good."

- Ichimu


	7. An Die Nachtigall

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I, in any material form, profit from posting fan fiction containing its themes and characters. Please do not sue. Thank you Schubert for lending me your song title.

Author's Note: Well, not much to say. I took a really long break in posting this, I know. But I've been applying for college and stuff, and I must say, there's no way you can pursue pleasures like writing fan fiction while debating what lunch plan you want, and whether you _really _want to be in the Honors dorm.

Anyway, I did get into college. I'm going to CUA next year, as a Vocal Performance major. I'm going to try to form a minor in both Creative Writing and German. We'll see how that works out. (Wish me luck!)

Translations:

Moshi-moshi: a greeting used for telephone conversations.

Chapter 7, An Die Nachtigall

I woke up to the eleven o'clock news. Inuyasha's picture flashed up on the screen. A smallish lady with bleached hair and too much make-up appeared. Her pink lips were folded into a practiced line.

"Kiwante Amiko here with a recent development in the search for the criminal Inuyasha. Last week, police officials confirmed seeing the murderer in a local park. They would have apprehended him at once, but as soon as they drew close, he vanished." Another picture came up, this time of Inuyasha in the park. He was standing by the bench, and I was sitting at the other end.

I almost screamed. It was me! It was definitely me. I crawled forward on my knees, and pressed my palms against the screen, staring into my face. But the picture was blurred, and I was unrecognizable. Whoever had taken the photo was obviously not aiming for the pair of us; instead, it appeared to be an awkward photograph of a falling leaf.

The lady continued to speak. "Inuyasha's location is yet unknown to the police force, but the park shall be kept under strict surveillance for the next few weeks, should the criminal reappear. Police caution all once again to lock all window and doors, and to not admit anyone into their homes after curfew. Those who fail to follow these rules shall be found and processed. Those who find themselves out of doors after curfew, for whatever reason, must report to the nearest care center. A quarter of an hour after curfew, all those who are not inside can expect to be fired at, arrested, and summarily put on trial."

I turned the television off and sank back into the couch. My history book slid down the cushion and bumped against my thigh. I sighed and flipped it open to a random page. Buddha appeared, smiling up at me.

It suddenly occurred to me to write some poetry. Miroku had given me books all about poetry—something we had never been allowed to have in my school. Poetry is dangerous, they would tell us. I remember one time the boy sitting next to me in Japanese class, whose name was Matsui, wrote me a note. It contained three lines of poetry, the most beautiful lines I had ever heard. I stared at the note openly, marveling at Matsui's subtle use of our complicated language. I memorized it, imprinted it on my heart. A moment later, our teacher had snatched the little piece of paper from my hands. She sent Matsui to the principal's office.

I never saw Matsui again after that day. I can only assume he was expelled, or worse. I heard a rumor that he had more poems in his home, that he even had some Whitman in his book bag, and that a copy of one of Keats' love poems was kept under his pillow. Those rumors scalded me. I had no idea who Whitman and Keats were, nor did my classmates. But unlike my classmates who shied away from the names, I was determined to read, to hear, to feel those lines. I absolutely had to have more poetry in my life.

When I got home from school, I wrote Matsui's words down, and taped them to the inside of my desk drawer.

I told Miroku this story, and, without saying anything about it, he left. The next day, I found several books of poems on my pillow. My favorites, of course, were the haiku, those three lines that plucked so fondly at my senses.

I took my pencil, and grabbed my history book. Staring down at Buddha, I began to write.

_Buddha's first name was Siddhartha. My mother's first name is Shihona. She was a Buddhist, but her father was a Shinto priest and she married a Shinto man. I wonder if she still believes in Buddhism._

_God, I don't even know if my mother is still alive._

_God? Do I believe in God? Or do I believe in Buddha? Or maybe I believe in the many gods of the Shinto faith. How about all the gods and goddesses that were lost when China invaded Japan? Do people still believe in them?_

_The Government does not allow religion. It does not allow faith. That's mostly fine, as most people I know are atheists anyway. The Shinto faith is allowed to remain as long as it limits its teachings to ways of life instead of spiritual guidance. _

_People are not allowed to believe in the afterlife. But they still do. As of yet, it is unknown whether the Government can really get into your head and manipulate your thought processes…_

More like a list of thoughts than a poem. I was immediately frustrated at my first attempt to invoke the spirit of Matsui's writing. I put the pencil down and pushed my history book away. It fell on the ground with a loud report, like the sound of an exploding rifle.

In school, we had no history course. Everything that I had learned was a lie, a total and complete lie. I hated the Government. I hated them so much at that moment that I began to shake.

I wanted my mother. I wanted to hug Souta, and I wanted to tell my grandfather that no, I don't want to hear the story about the hanyou and the brave miko who… Well, I quite frankly couldn't tell you what that story was even about. I wanted to know: are they alive? My heart ached under the weight of the question. What had we done to deserve the attention of the Government? Why were they after me specifically?

_"Ah, so you don't know, then? You don't have a clue what you are?"_

The phone rang. I let it go, waiting for the answering machine to spring into action.

_Leave a message_, the answering machine commanded gruffly in Inuyasha's voice.

"Hello, Kagome-chan? Sango here."

I picked up the receiver with a loud groan. "Moshi-moshi, Sango-chan," I said. "What's up?"

"I'm getting some bagels for breakfast tomorrow. Can I get you something?" That was code, of course. Why would Sango be worrying about bagels at eleven o'clock at night? The Rebel movement at all times strictly watched the phone line, and Sango didn't want the organization to catch wind that the Shi were in action again just yet. She wanted to remain low maintenance as long as possible, so when she was talking about bagels, she really had some important news to share, and wanted to come upstairs.

"No, thanks. I'm not hungry," I replied. In other words: yes, I'm alone, please come up.

A knock came on the door. I opened and tried to smile at Sango.

"You look awful," she said at once. "Haven't you been sleeping?"

"Gee, thanks," I replied, stepping aside to let her into the room. "I've been sleeping…" A lie. I hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. What winks I could get in during the day were a blessed luxury.

Sango smiled. "Sorry." She crossed to the sofa, picked up my history book, and put it on the coffee table. She sighed.

"Do you want something to drink?" I asked, already moving towards the kitchen.

"Just some water, thanks," Sango said. Manners dictated that she ought to have refused the drink at least twice, but I had quickly learned that manners had no place in the world of the Rebellion. "What time is it?"

"Ten after eleven," I reported without looking at the clock.

"Good, then I have some time," she said distractedly.

I returned, carrying two waters. The first I placed in front of her, and then I took a quick sip of my own. "So, what's the story?"

"Miroku got back half an hour ago."

"How is he?" I walked calmly over to the remote, and switched on the TV. I turned it up. We had to be sure that our conversation wouldn't be overheard by anyone. We both pretended to be engaged in a program about opossum babies.

"He's the ER right now, but he'll be fine," Sango said, laughing as though she had told a hilarious joke. But there were dark circles under her eyes and her hands were shaking with fatigue.

I laughed as well, but a weight had formed in my chest. "Is it alright for you to be here right now?"

Sango laughed again, but there was a hard, self-critical look in her eyes. "He went under four minutes ago. The night nurses can handle the situation for the moment. And I had to tell you what he found out."

"You shouldn't, Inuyasha wouldn't like that."

"Fuck what Inuyasha likes or doesn't. This is out of his hands now. He's got to trust you. No more stalling," she said sharply, suddenly.

I pretended to be wounded, but, with my back to the windows, I smiled at her. "So, what did he uncover?"

"Someone's been poisoning Inuyasha. I don't know how they got the poison to him. Miroku killed the guy before we could get the information, unfortunately. I could have smacked him for that…" But the fatigue and worry in her frame said otherwise. "Anyway, others confirmed that the man Miroku killed was the only one that knew how to mix the cocaine into a substance that Inuyasha wouldn't be able to detect. The knife that was thrown at you was laced with cocaine. Inuyasha must've taken that knife, and examined it. The amount of cocaine in the knife sent him over, and he attacked you."

She smiled. "It took awhile, but the poison's completely out of his system now. Tomorrow should see an end to any withdraw symptoms, and he can come home. The withdraw shouldn't be severe, however, since the amounts that Inuyasha was exposed to were very small, hardly noticeable little spurts of energy until that last one."

I wanted to hug her, but I turned my eyes back to the screen. I turned it off. "Rather boring program, isn't it?"

"Yeah, well," Sango said, rising to her feet. "Sorry we couldn't get that movie."

"Nah, whatever. We'll get it next time," I said, swatting at the issue with the back of my hand.

"See you," she said.

"See you," I agreed. I got up and walked her to the door. When she was outside on the landing, I whispered, "Can I see Miroku tomorrow?"

Sango nodded, and then she was gone. I thought maybe for a moment that I saw a grateful smile flicker across her face.

I woke up when the key slipped into the lock. I was lying on the couch, my history book open on my stomach. I blinked twice, tried to get up, and then found myself sinking further and further back into the cushions. It was my first night of undisturbed sleep in a week.

I was somewhere between consciousness and oblivion when Inuyasha walked into the room.

"Girl, are you here?" he asked softly.

I froze. My throat restricted. My limbs were immovable. My stomach rolled. A single tear trickled down the side of my face. I smiled. Inuyasha…

I didn't hear him approach, but the next moment he was beside me. He was kneeling on the ground, staring into my face. I wondered if I was dreaming. "Hey, are you awake?" he whispered.

And then I wasn't. A little breath eased out of my slightly parted lips, and I was asleep.

Miroku looked up as we walked into the room. He smiled, and then put a finger to his lips. Sango was sitting in the chair beside the bed, but she had fallen asleep, and was resting on her arms on the edge of Miroku's bed.

I smiled at my friend's peaceful face, and walked across the room to place the flowers on the windowsill. Inuyasha walked over to Miroku, and the two spent several moments in close conversation.

"What's the diagnosis?" Inuyasha asked quietly when he was satisfied with their private council. He took a cigarette out of his back pocket and lit up. A thin stream of milky haze fled from his lips.

"Nothing new. The bastard was a fighter, and stabbed my arm. But he missed the important stuff, and a couple stitches should have me sparring with Kagome-sama in two weeks." He grinned at me.

"In the meantime, then, I'm going to get her a job," Inuyasha said lightly.

"A job?" I asked, blinking at him.

"That's right; you've got to start pulling your weight. Sango works, I work, and Miroku works. Your turn," Inuyasha said, looking at me over his shoulder.

"Excuse me? You work?" I asked, truly surprised to hear this. I'd never seen Inuyasha lift a finger.

"Sure I do. I teach," Inuyasha said flippantly, totally unaware that he had just said something so strange.

"You're a teacher?" I blurted out incredulously. "Who'd hire you?"

Inuyasha turned his back to me. "I teach private lessons."

"Anyway," Miroku interjected, sensing the intimacy of a fight and loathing the idea of waking Sango. "Anyway, I think it's a good idea, Kagome-sama. You could get some money set aside for yourself, and you could help us get some information on the Government's movements."

"I'll look up something for you," Inuyasha said. "I already have a place in mind." With that, he nodded to Miroku and walked out of the room.

I made an angry little sound in my chest that made Miroku smile. "Don't get too angry with him, Kagome-sama. Despite what you may think, he's trying."

"Yeah, I can tell," I said, rolling my eyes. "The only thing he tries to do is get on my nerves."

"Maybe so," Miroku said sagaciously, "but if you ask me, which I know you haven't, his snide remarks are a poorly disguised cry for help."

"Help?" I repeated. "What does he need help with?"

"I think you should go home and check under you bed, Kagome-sama," Miroku said.

Sango stirred slightly, and muttered something in her sleep. Miroku looked sad, suddenly. He touched Sango's hair, and whispered softly to her. She settled at once.

I had disappeared in Miroku's consciousness, so there was no reason for me to stick around to hear what he meant. I slipped out of the room and walked down the hall.

That night, after Inuyasha was asleep, I crept out of bed. Pushing aside my sheets with the stealthiest motions I could manage, I tucked the upper half of my body under the bed. My hands groped in the darkness for several moments, and then closed around the little chest. I pulled it out, cradling it to my heart like an infant.

I took the key from around my neck, and opened the chest. Inside were a few keepsakes from my old life: a cell phone that Inuyasha had taken the batteries out of, a picture of my fat cat, Buyo, that Souta had drawn a couple of years ago. Also, there was a photo of my family in front of Higurashi shrine's Goshinboku. I was wearing an apricot-colored kimono with trees, mountains, and fog. My mother's kimono was light blue, with lazy pink and yellow designs. Souta's yukata was blue with tiny fish, and my grandfather was wearing his shrine robes.

And my father was there, his arm around my mother. He looked so happy, so full of life. His black hair and dark brown eyes, his tall, erect frame, those strong, broad shoulders that had carried me, I knew each detail so well. I kissed my father and mother, and then put the picture down. Behind it, Kikyo looked up at me.

"Kikyo…" I shivered.

- Ichimu


	8. Song Cycles

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I, in any material form, profit from posting fan fiction containing its themes and characters. Please do not sue.

Author's Note: Alright, Chapter 8! This is a pretty standard chapter, not a whole lot goes on. This my effort at making the daily interesting. I must say, writing in two different tenses makes verb agreement very confusing, so sorry if there are any sentences were one half is present and one half is past. Although some are meant to be that way…Well, you'll know which is which, I shoulder think.

I finished my novella, so I can finally start posting. It's a novella of the French Revolution, and it's entitled "The Execution of the Butterfly". I would offer to send it to you guys, but I think I might get it published, and therefore can't have bits and pieces of it hanging out on someone's computer.

Mm, so, here's the chapter. Enjoy!

Translations:

Ohayo (gozaimasu): Good morning

Chapter 8, Song Cycles

The pipes hum and the showerhead puts forth a thick, biting stream of icicles. I swallow the urge to scream and crumble into the floor. They mustn't have the satisfaction of watching me squirm. I stare at the wall, behind which I know they are watching me, and stick out my chin defiantly. The water stops. It comes on again, hot this time. It's so hot that my skin is peeling back in horror. I tip my head back, grab the soap, and begin to scrub myself.

"Ohayo, Kagome-san," says a snide voice from the other side of the wall. "How are we feeling this morning?"

"Fuck off," I say.

The water stops. It comes back on, freezing cold. I continue to sponge myself as though I haven't noticed.

"Do you remember me, Kagome-san?"

"Nope," I say with a shrug. I won't let him know that his voice is imprinted on my memory. I won't give him the chance to pat himself on the back. "Who the fuck are you?"

The water changes again. The change wouldn't be so bad if they didn't stop the water in between. That moment of dryness, when the cool air rushes around my nakedness like a blanket, is heaven compared with the volcanic heat or the icicles that follow. I wonder if they heat and freeze the water themselves, because no tap water has ever had such extremes.

"Fukouka," he says. "Do you remember me now?"

"Hmm," I say. I turn around, baring my naked body to the wall I know he's standing behind. "No."

"Change her conditioning," Fukouka orders the guards. "Bring her to the glass shower, and let some of the privates in. Two birds with one stone: we'll humiliate her and raise moral at the same time."

I look away. The water changes again. Ice. I close my eyes, and it is winter. I'm running out of the apartment, and it's snowing…

(…)(…)(…)

It was a beautiful winter day. The sharp air struck my face as I stepped out of the apartment building, pinching roses in my cheeks and displaying my breath. Snowflakes fell all around, covering the earth in a brilliant silvery blanket. I took off at a brisk jog down the street, tying my long black hair back as I went, and ducking between a group of old women carrying their groceries.

"Ohayo gozaimasu!" I said, smiling at the weathered, lined faces that turned up to me.

"Ohayo," they responded.

I picked up a doughnut at the bakery, freshly made just two hours ago, and continued jogging with my pastry tucked between my lips. The raspberry filling poured out over my tongue, causing my stomach to purr and roll over in delight.

After my jog, I went back to the apartment. Inuyasha was gone. I untied my hair and stepped into the misty stream of the shower. I brushed my teeth, applied a bit of makeup to my face, a luxury I was allowed now that I was legally married, and got dressed. Leaving a note reminding Inuyasha to cancel his six o'clock appointment, I went to work.

(…)(…)(…)

The restaurant was opening just as I slipped through the door. Inuyasha had found me a job at a local restaurant called Momotaro. I worked there during breakfast and lunch, the busiest times. It was a Government hotspot. Everyone went there, from the lowest private to the officers. They were strictly forbidden to speak of work outside of secure areas, but a well-placed smile applied to a slightly drunk customer could loosen the most stubborn tongue.

Miroku's training was finally coming in helpful; being around Miroku all the time, I could brush off even the boldest pats with a smile. Government employees were the biggest perverts ever.

(…)(…)(…)

I am pushed into another shower. I stumble in, slip on the wet floor, and almost fall flat on my ass. The men surrounding the glass laugh. Their faces are pressed up against it, waiting for me to walk closer. I can hardly breathe; I am so embarrassed. My insides ache. I take one step forward, and then another. I close my eyes. The water comes on, mercifully hiding the tears that are streaming down my cheeks.

_Inuyasha, where are you?_

(…)(…)(…)

The glass crashed on the floor in front of me. I didn't do it. It was the man sitting in the booth. His back was turned to me, he was hunched over, and his chin was poised on top of his adjoined hands. He was alone. I knelt down and began to clean up the glass.

"Can I get you something else, sir?" I asked politely.

"Vodka," he said.

"Ah, right." I finished clearing the glass away, and went to fetch that vodka. First, however, I had some more important customers. I didn't get back to the mystery man until ten minutes later. This time, I approached from the front so I could see his face.

He was wearing sunglasses.

I swallowed. _All right, just because he's wearing sunglasses doesn't mean he's your man_, I reminded myself. _Plenty of gray-haired people wear sunglasses on a stormy winter day_. I put the vodka on the table, and began walking away.

His voice followed me, though. "What's your name?"

My throat went dry. "Ano…"

I was saved when my cell phone rang. "Excuse me, this is urgent," I managed before ducking behind a rice paper wall. I pressed the phone to my ear. "Inuyasha?"

"Come home."

"What's wrong?"

Dial-tone. Typical. I wondered if I should go, or take it as another false alarm and stay at work. Heaven knows we needed the money. Still, something about the strain in Inuyasha's voice caused me to grab my coat off the hanger. I ducked into the kitchen to say farewell, tell my boss that my husband just called, that he had fallen down the stairs and that he needed me to take him to the hospital.

My boss didn't even blink. She just nodded and smiled. That should have been my first clue.

I walked out the door into the bitter wind. The day had gotten worse, much worse since breakfast. I bowed my head against the ice that struck my face, tucked my scarf around my neck, and tried to make some headway through the shuffling, drifting Tokyo crowd.

(…)(…)(…)

I got to the apartment at 12:43. I know because I checked my watched before I walked in. About fifteen minutes had passed since Inuyasha's call, so I wondering whether he would still be waiting.

He was. He was sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the floor. On the coffee table, lying wide-open was Kikyo's file.

"Inuyasha?" I said softly, putting my purse down. "Where did you find that?"

"Where do you think I found it?" Inuyasha snapped.

"Look," I said, lifting my hands very slowly. "Look, I can explain."

Inuyasha stood up suddenly, grabbing the files in one hand. Then, he reached into his pocket, took out his lighter, and before I could stop him, lit the files on fire. He dropped them on the carpet.

"What are you doing?!" I shrieked, jumping forward.

He took me roughly in one arm and pushed me back. "Leave it."

"You psycho! You're going to burn down the entire building," I shouted. The paper was being devoured, and smoke was everywhere. I could see the photograph crinkling, bending and twisting under the heat as the colors slowly melted together. It was like watching my own face burn up. I kicked Inuyasha in the shin. He let go. I ran to the files, took off my coat, and threw it over the flames. I began to stomp out the embers.

The fire alarm went off, and the overhead sprinklers took a stab at my quickly rising temper. I was soaked in a minute. I turned to Inuyasha slowly, fuming. I hoped my mascara was coming down my cheeks in little black streams. I hoped that I looked ferocious.

"What were you thinking?!" I trumpeted.

Inuyasha calmly took out a cigarette and lit up. I couldn't believe that he could look so cool, so…well, sexy even dripping wet. He let a thin stream of smoke escape his lips.

"Answer me!" I said.

He responded with an icy golden glare.

I straightened up and stuck my chin out. "You've ruined the carpet, the furniture, the TV, and you have nothing to say for it?"

Inuyasha flicked his cigarette at me. It hit me in the cheek, sending ashes into my eyes. I had to blink furiously to keep my vision intact. "Where did you get those files!?" he screamed.

I was speechless. All I could do was stare dumbly into his face and hope that the situation would be over soon.

He took a threatening step forward. I took a step back. "I asked you a question, girl."

"I—Sango…" I said lamely. I was fighting for vocabulary.

Inuyasha looked away. "This conversation is over," he said sharply. "We're never talking about this again." He got another cigarette and lit up. He began walking towards the door. "You better get back to work." He shut the door behind him.

I stood in the middle of the living room, my black hair sticking to my face, my make-up sliding down my cheeks in colorful streams, struck dumb. I didn't go back to work. I took a shower, and spent the rest of the day drying the carpet and furniture. Inuyasha didn't come home that night. When I woke up in the morning, he still wasn't home.

I went to work.

(…)(…)(…)

After work, I went out with a couple of my new friends. Inuyasha didn't like me doing this, but I figured I'd already broken some pretty big rules, so why not break a few more. We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner, and didn't say goodbye until eight o'clock.

The conversation at dinner, unfortunately, harped mostly on what my friends saw as my abusive marriage. They were insistent that I go on holiday. They said that there was this great spa in the mountains for troubled couples, and that Inuyasha and I could certainly rekindle, or find, our love there. I left the conversation with a new palette of green in my cheeks.

We parted at the corner of a street, under a street lamp. I waved goodbye to them and then checked my cell phone anxiously. Inuyasha still hadn't called. I gnawed on my lip, and pressed the call button. I got his voicemail right away.

_Leave a message_, his voice commanded on the other end.

"Inuyasha? Yeah, this is Kagome. Um…well, you haven't called. I'm just, y'know… No, no, you don't know. Oh God, never mind." I hung up, frustrated with myself. I started walking.

My breath fanned out in front of me in a bluish cloud of condensation. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and picked up my pace. My pretty pink boots sank into the snowdrifts. It began to snow slowly.

I looked up at the sky. The moon was gone, taking her monthly nap, as my father would tell me when I was a child. I smiled at this memory. A long time ago, the night of the new moon must have been a big deal, but nowadays, electric Tokyo didn't notice the difference; neon lights filled the night as brightly as daylight.

I turned onto the street where the apartment building was. I fumbled around in my purse for my keys, my numb fingers searching for their rough edges. I found them, slipped the proper one into the door, and gained entrance. I leapt onto the doormat, tapped the snow from my boots, took them off, and slipped my feet into my indoor shoes. Nodding to the security guard who was watching his soaps, I mounted the stairs.

I opened our door, and stepped inside.

"Inuyasha?"

There was no answer. I sighed, opened a can of soda, and collapsed onto the sofa. I pulled out one of the poetry books Miroku had gotten me, and started reading. The night dragged on. I nodded, and then I was asleep.

The door opened towards morning. I knew it was Inuyasha by the curse that greeted me, but I was too tired to open my eyes.

"You awake, girl?" he asked.

"Ee," I said sleepily.

"Go back to bed. I'm going to take a shower." He left, but I didn't hear any water running. I fell back to sleep.

Somewhere between waking and sleep, Inuyasha walked past me and put some breakfast on the table. I could have sworn that his hair was black, but that could have just been the shadows playing tricks on my eyes.

(…)(…)(…)

I woke up around 10:00. I panicked, and then remembered that it was Saturday, and I didn't have to worry about work. I sat up. "Inuyasha?"

"Yeah."

I turned around. He standing in the kitchen, making a snack. His back was to me, and his hair was white.

"I had a really weird dream," I said. "You had black hair."

He didn't even blink. "Yeah," he agreed. "That is a weird dream."

"Where were you?" I asked.

Inuyasha didn't answer. He poured himself a glass of orange juice and walked into the room. "So, the TV's broken, huh?"

"Yes," I sighed. Sometimes, I wonder why I even tried to get an answer out of him.

"I think I saw Fukouka in the restaurant the other day," I said, hugging my legs to my chest.

"Who?"

I frowned, offended by his selective memory. "The guy with the sunglasses and the grey hair."

"Oh, right. Ok." Inuyasha said, sitting down on the other end of the sofa. He swallowed his snack in one bite, and downed his orange juice in another. I was reminded of the breakfast scene in Beauty and the Beast. "Well, you couldn't have seen him."

"Why not?" I wanted to know.

"Because Agent Fukouka is dead," Inuyasha said calmly. "Shot in the back of the head last week. The police found his body just down the street. He was buried under some snow, half frozen."


	9. Reprise

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I profit from using its trademarks in any material way.

Author's Note: This chapter probably should have gone up with the last, so I'm posting them consecutively. Hopefully, this will clear up some confusion.

By the way, Kagome is telling this story in the present tense. She's remembering events, and those are told in the past. But this story is told in first person, and must therefore reflect Kagome's state of mind. As she is broken down further and further by Fukouka's torturing, her story will become more and more detached. It will still be coherent, but the events may not happen in chronological order.

In summary, the shower stuff in the last chapter was Kagome's present, and the first part here is also in her present. Everything else already happened.

Chapter 9, Reprise

I'm alone now. Well, as alone as I ever am in this shit hole. My tormentors are absent, non-communicating.

Every couple of hours, they wake me up, pull me into a bright room, and push me down into a steel chair roughly. Then Fukouka appears. And he asks me, "Do you still think Inuyasha is alive?"

"Yes," I always respond.

"And is he coming for you?"

My response to this varies. Sometimes, Inuyasha's already on his way. Sometimes, I don't know. Sometimes…I'm sure he's never coming for me at all. At these times, I bow my head so they can't see my tears, and I scream on the inside.

_WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?_

But I'm getting sidetracked. I have to take advantage of this precious time. For this rare moment, I am alone. For this rare moment, I can finish my story.

(…)(…)(…)

I was, well, _relieved_ to hear of Fukouka's death. I felt like now my life could start returning to normal. I went to work the next day without dread. I served my customers with an easy smile and gentle grace. I even laughed when the attorney general examined my butt with his hand.

Sango stopped in to see me at lunchtime. She said she was busy at the moment, but asked if I wanted to go out shopping after my shift. I happily agreed. Normalcy ensued. Well, as normal as life was then. Everything about the day was contributing to my smile.

And then I saw him.

He was sitting in the corner, cradling a pistol. His sun-glassed eyes were focused on me. He beckoned. I came.

"Can I help you?" I asked, pulling out my notepad.

"You never answered my question the other day," he said slowly, his voice threatening.

"I'm sorry, sir. I can't remember…" I said, my smile not faltering for an instant.

His grin contorted into an ugly, twisted line. "Do you know why you're safe here? Do you know why no one springs on you and brings you to the President this very instant?"

I must have lost all the color in my face, because his grin widened, splitting his face like a jackal's leer. "I'll have a vodka, and then won't you join me?"

I retrieved the vodka with wooden movements, and seated myself across from him. He was playing with his gun, running the barrel up and down his forearm so I might see and appreciate the bullets it contained.

"Curiosity killed the cat, dear, but it's not stopping you, huh?" he said, swinging his head back to down a huge gulp of the clear liquor.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

Suddenly, I was staring at him down the length of the pistol. It was all I could do to keep from screaming right there.

"Why are you still alive, Kikyo?"

I gasped. The next thing I knew, my hand was in my pocket, fumbling for my cell phone. I pressed number 3, and then the call number. It began dialing Inuyasha's cell.

Fukouka leaned back, cackling. His gun was still pointed between my eyes. "I saw you die, bitch. You died right in front of me. And then he somehow got blamed for it. You useless piece of trash!" His gun caught me across the cheek, and I tumbled out of the booth. My blood bloomed in a little pool across the well-polished floor.

I lifted myself onto my elbows. No one in the restaurant moved. The waitresses were cowering behind the counter. One of my friends was reaching for the phone. Fukouka saw her, though, and snapped the phone cord with a well-placed bullet.

_So much for depending on his foggy mind and slowed reaction time, _I thought as I scrambled to my feet.

Fukouka left the booth, still pointing the gun at me.

"Sir, please, you've made a big mistake," I pleaded, backing away. I muttered prayer after prayer under my breath that Inuyasha would answer the phone, hear the conversation, and come running.

"Shut the fuck up!" Fukouka shouted. He shot the floor in front of me. This time I did scream.

The government agents were eyeing each other uneasily. One stood up and walked towards the door. Fukouka made no effort to dissuade him. His colleagues followed, one after the other. So much for protecting the country and every person in it.

"You bitch!" Fukouka cried. "You ruined my life!"

_Familiar words,_ I thought through my panic. _Apparently, Kikyo was big on humanity._ I placed whatever I could between the advancing Fukouka and me. I was headed for the door. If I could get him on the street, we would attract more attention, and maybe Fukouka would be less likely to act.

I got to the door at last. I reached behind me to grab the handle, and my breath stopped.

It was locked.

I stumbled away, back, back. Away from the creature that was still pointing the gun, and whose maniacal, twisted face showed no sign of mercy. "Please, sir…"

"All you had to do was deliver him. All you had to do was give him over to us, and you failed to do it. Was it love, Kikyo, that stayed your hand? Or, perhaps, was it your last rebellious act against your paternal Government?" Fukouka gun had slackened a bit, but he raised it with renewed force to my head now. My back struck the wall. There was nowhere left to go.

Several things occurred to me just then. One was that Fukouka was a raving lunatic, and I wanted some of whatever he was on. Another was that if I struck his wrist forcefully, he'd be force to drop the gun. Another was that if I pushed his arm out of the way and moved a bit to the left, his shot would miss. But none of these thoughts could bring action to my paralyzed limbs.

I was going to die.

And then, I wasn't.

Fukouka was teetering backwards, an arm wrapped around his throat. He fired and I ducked, covering my head. The bullet shattered the glass above me, subjecting me to an angry, piercing rain.

When the glass had settled, I dashed forward, and began wrestling with Fukouka, determined to get the gun out of his hands. Fukouka's elbow met my savior's head, and my poor boss fell backwards, clutching her newly broken nose. I renewed my efforts, my throat giving voice to the strain of my muscles.

Fukouka punched me across the jaw with his free hand. I pinned his hand with my body and responded by kneeing him in the stomach. Then we toppled onto the floor. We rolled among the bits of glass, the gun clutched in both our hands. I bit him more times than I care to remember, and his toes managed to form some dark bruises along my legs.

We rolled back and forth, the tiny bits of glass cutting into my arms and legs. He rolled on top of me, and pressed my poor body into the glass shards. I used my arm to strike his chin decisively. A little jet of blood spurted forth, hitting my cheeks.

The glass door behind Fukouka exploded into a tiny million pieces, and Inuyasha darted into the room.

"Inuyasha!" I exclaimed in relief.

That second almost cost me a lifetime. The gun went off, and my world went black.

(…)(…)(…)

"Don't move around too much yet," said a soft voice at my ear.

"Inuyasha?" I asked hoarsely. The room was swimming in and out of focus. I could see my husband's form over me, with his white hair and his captivating golden eyes. "Am I dead?"

"Sh," he said. I had never heard his voice so calming before. "You shouldn't talk, either."

I looked down. My uniform was all red. I felt like crying when I realized it was blood, but it occurred to me that that was probably on Inuyasha's don'ts list as well.

"Sh, sh," he breathed. "You're alright. You were hit, but you're alright. You're going to be in the ambulance in a minute, and you'll be at the hospital before you know it."

"Where?" I mouthed.

"Fukouka shot you right under your arm. I'm not sure what the damage is like," he said. He started smoothing my hair, which I found surprisingly relaxing. I closed my eyes.

"Stay awake," he said. I opened my eyes, and looked up at him. "You're going to be fine, just stay awake."

"I thought you said Fukouka was dead," I commented bitterly.

"Apparently, the police wanted us to think he was," Inuyasha said. He reached down, and started tearing his shirt into thin strips. "It was good that you called me."

"Did you get him? Is he dead?" I asked as Inuyasha gingerly started applying pressure to my side to stop the bleeding. I don't think I could even feel the additional pain.

"No," he said without looking at me.

"He thought I was Kikyo," I said.

Now Inuyasha looked at me. He frowned. Then, he put a finger to my lips. "No more talking now."

Minutes passed like hours, all in perfect silence. When I thought I couldn't stand it anymore, the ambulance pulled up, and I was being lifted onto the cot. Inuyasha rode with me in the ambulance, and stayed with me as I was being ferried to ER, a mask over my face to keep me breathing.

(…)(…)(…)

I woke up a couple of hours later. A nurse was freshening the room, airing it out or whatever nurses do. She smiled at me and came to my bedside. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

I nodded and smiled to show that I was feeling fine.

"Well enough for a couple visitors?" she asked.

"Visitors?" I echoed, confused.

The nurse went to the door. "Your brother and husband are here to see you," she chimed.

Now I was really confused. She must have the wrong room. My brother was in Government custody. And the thought of Inuyasha coming to see me of his own free will was preposterous.

Just the same, the door opened and Inuyasha strolled into the room. "Hey," he said.

"My brother?" I asked him, blinking.

Miroku walked into the room. "Hey! What's going on, sis?" He came to my bedside and kissed my cheek. "You're looking a little peaky. How do you feel?"

The nurse bowed and left. The situation relaxed. Inuyasha lit up, filling the room with his wispy grey breath.

"My brother, huh?" I teased, laughing at Miroku. "I can really see the family resemblance."

Miroku smirked and punched my shoulder playfully. "Well, they weren't going to let me see you otherwise. And with your married name on the door, I could use my last name and get in as easy as pie. They really need to tighten security around here."

"Aren't we at Sango's?" I asked, confused.

"Nope," Miroku said, stretching. "No, the ambulance just brought you to the nearest hospital. You'll be transferred tomorrow, when you're stabilized."

"Oh," I said.

"So, how _are_ you feeling?"

"Pretty good, considering."

"We can always pump up the morphine if you like," Miroku said, laughing.

"I'm good," I said, frowning.

"Miroku, can you leave us alone for a minute?" Inuyasha said suddenly.

Miroku's eyebrows met his hairline as he turned to look at Inuyasha. "Uh…Yeah, sure." He looked back at me to make sure I was ok with him leaving. I nodded. Miroku shrugged and messed my hair a bit playfully. He kissed my cheek again and then walked out of the room.

"What's up, Inuyasha?" I asked.

Inuyasha walked across the room and sat down on my bed. He was staring straight ahead, in the direction of the door. "You didn't do so badly back there." He looked at me, his golden eyes capturing my full attention at once. "You're going to have to take it easy for a while, but afterwards…"

"Yeah?" I pressed as his voice trailed off. My heart was picking up, pumping anticipation through my veins.

Inuyasha sighed and looked away again. "I'm leaving."

"What?" I blinked.

"I don't know how long I'll be gone," he said in a resigned, tired voice. "Sango and Miroku will look after you until I get back. When I do, well, we'll see about it then." He reached across the bed and took my hand in his. The intimate gesture caused me to jump as my eyes flew to his face, but he was still looking away from me.

"You shouldn't be involved in what comes next. You've done well so far. You've learned everything Miroku's taught you, you've conquered your fears, and you've become a force to be reckoned with. But what comes next…you're not prepared for it."

"What?" I barked. "How am I not prepared?"

Inuyasha looked at me, and the look in his fantastic eyes caused my words to be stillborn in my chest. "Sayonara, Kagome." He stood and walked out the door.

It sat in silence, muted once again by Inuyasha's unpredictable behavior. It was the first time I had ever heard him say my name. And, strangest of all, the sound of my name on his lips had caused my heart to flutter wildly against my ribcage.

- Ichimu


	10. Latino Rock Ballad

Disclaimer: I don't won Inuyasha, or Vogue.

Author's Note: It's not really a cliffhanger. Honestly, it's not. It _would _be a cliffhanger if I didn't tell you who it was, but I did, so it's not. So there.

Little gushy thing at the beginning. Just because. Well, because that's how I feel at the moment.

The rest of the chapter is pretty depressing.

Anyway! Chapter 10! Woohoo! We've already outdistanced my other version of this story, and made some serious improvements to boot. I hope you all enjoy this chapter; I had fun writing it—on my brand new laptop! YAY!

Ok, chapter time.

WARNING: DON'T PANIC AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER.

(-)(-)(-)

Chapter 10, Latino Rock Ballad

I loved him.

One time, we were sitting across from each other in the train. He was looking out the window, watching the grayish sky. I smiled at him, and he raised his eyebrow.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said with a shrug.

I smiled still, and when we got off the train, I hugged myself.

I really, really loved him.

(-)(-)(-)

The hours ticked by on the kitchen clock. The first week, I sat in the living room, pressing my face into the cushions, and begging myself not to cry. But I did anyway, until my lungs hurt and I was convinced my eyes would be red and puffy forever. The second week, I screamed and threw a punch at my mirror, sending little bits of glass all over the floor. I decided I wasn't going to clean it up. I stepped on a piece. I got the vacuum out. The third week, I sat for long hours in front of the door, staring at it emptily. Each and every sound made me jump. The fourth week, I went grocery shopping, I went to work, I cleaned the house, I did the dishes…

I moved on.

I didn't tell Sango and Miroku want Inuyasha had said. If he told them, they didn't say anything. Trough all four stages of my eventual acceptance, they acted just as though everything was going exactly as they had expected. They didn't offer anything, but they were always ready with it the minute I asked. They were my little floaties, one about each arm, that kept me afloat in the tsunami that wracked my body.

(-)(-)(-)

I knocked on the door.

"Come in."

I entered. I put my bag down on a chair.

"Hi, Kagome-chan," Sango said, looking up from her paperwork and smiling. "What's up?"

I sank into the chair in front of her desk. Pushing my bangs out of my eyes, I tried to smile. "I was wondering, Sango-chan, do you think it would be all right for me to go home?"

Sango raised an eyebrow, as though to ask if I were actually serious. Then, she bit her lip. "Kagome-chan, you know how dangerous it is for you to be moving about right now. Even if you just go back for a few minutes, what if you run into a classmate? A teacher? A storekeeper? Anyone who can positively identify you is a threat to your survival."

"I'll wear a wig," I proposed, my voice cracking. "You can come with me!"

Sango sighed and put her papers down. She pushed back from her desk, stood, and crossed to the window. "Kagome-chan, it isn't so easy to return to the life you've left. Once you become part of the Resistance, you just…" she stopped and turned her back to me. Her hand sought the window, making foggy little fingerprints as it connected with the cool glass. "You just disappear."

"Sango-chan…" I breathed.

Sango turned and braved a smile. "Oh, Kagome, don't worry about me, please."

The phone rang. "Excuse me," Sango muttered, picking up the receiver. "Hello?"

I looked at the clock. Another hour. My body compressed, sinking further into the leather cushion of the chair.

The phone gave an electric sigh as it was reunited with its cradle. "Sorry about that," Sango said.

I nodded, suddenly too weak to respond. Sango noticed my posture and came over to take my hand. "Look, Kagome-chan, it's not that I don't _want _to help you. I would give _anything _to see you happy. It's just that…"

"I get it," I snapped, even though I didn't. I stood roughly and grabbed my bag. Suddenly, there was a fire in my stomach. I felt like I was either going to throw up or break another mirror.

"Kagome-chan!" Sango called, her voice following me down the hall.

I turned around. "Just leave me the hell alone, Inuyasha!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Then I ran away.

I ran until I sank into the snow, wishing that I hadn't left my coat in Sango's office. The moonlight caused the snow to glow violet and strange. I palmed some of the fresh flakes and blew on them. They wheeled off into the dark, cloud-filled sky.

As I watched the flakes fall into the sky, my eyes fell on a proud red figure high above, holding up the heavens. My heart leapt as I recognized the characters engraved into the torii: Higurashi Shrine. Somehow, I had managed to run all the way home.

I began to climb the stairs. Voice chased me from the darkness.

"Ne-chan, look what I won today in school!"

"Welcome home, Kagome. Would you like a snack?"

"Late again, Kagome! Did you have to stay after and clean the boards?"

"Kagome, look at this scroll I found in one of the storerooms. This scrolls dates back to…"

"Ne-chan, are you listening to me?"

"Kagome?"

"Kagome!"

"Ne-chan!"

I stopped at Goshiboku. I pressed my forehead into the wood, willing myself to disappear into it. I wanted to lose myself, because being was just too hard.

_"But what comes next…you're not prepared for it."_

_"Sayonara, Kagome."_

"Inuyasha…what have you done to me?" I whimpered. I struck the tree with my fist. Pain shot up my arm, momentarily numbing my right side. I hit tree again. A little drop of blood remained behind, right over the old scar in the trunk. I aimed right for that spot, and threw my fist out again.

A shock went through my body, sharp as a bullet and shaped like a lightning bolt. I whirled around, my eyes hunting the shadows. "Hello?"

Nothing moved, but the feeling came again, stronger, closer. I shivered and ducked behind Goshiboku. My whole frame was quivering. I waited for fifteen minutes, pressed against the tree, but nothing ever came. I left.

(-)(-)(-)

"Moshi-moshi."

"Kagome-chan?"

"Hi, Sango-chan."

"I'll take you over."

"…"

"Kagome-chan, are you still there?"

"Yeah…arigato, Sango-chan."

(-)(-)(-)

Sango's car pulled to a tentative halt in front of the shrine steps. Sango turned off the lights and the ignition and then looked at me. "No more than fifteen minutes, ok?" she said.

"Ok, mom," I teased. I was eager to get back up there, to see what I had missed a month ago.

A month, yeah, it had been a whole month. This was the third month since I had last seen Inuyasha in that hospital room, since he had told me that I wouldn't be included in the latter portion of his plans. I went from tears to hate to fear to resignation, and now I was still, unmoving, yet somehow standing. Hours passed like eons, and I already felt like an old woman. The life I had learned to depend upon was shattering around me, and I was sitting back, watching the pieces crumble.

Spring was a new arrival to my solitude. It danced along the wind and kissed the ground, spreading a blush of daffodils and tulips across the earth's visage. But the flowers contained no surprises for me, and a stiffness had formed in my soul that could not be banished by spring's giddiness.

I took the stairs slowly. I passed under the torii, and moved right to Goshiboku. Settling onto the bench, I allowed my mind to wander back to last spring, when I sat beside my mother, gazing up into the leafy boughs as Goshiboku sighed.

_"Kagome?"_

_"Eh?"_

_"Don't you feel some kind of mysterious power while next to Goshiboku? You become somewhat gentle. Don't you feel as if your heart becomes more pure?"_

_I nodded._

_"This is where your father proposed to me."_

_"Eh?"_

_"Of course I liked him, but you know, the day before we fought over a small thing. I was really nervous and wondering if we could work it out or not. But when I came under this tree, I could feel myself being purified. And thanks to that I was gifted with you, Kagome, and Souta. I dearly thank this tree."_

I closed my eyes. "Thank you, mama."

I walked to the tree, feeling brave now, and strong. I circled the trunk, letting my arm dangle loosely behind me, tracing the meandering patterns in the bark. When I reached the front of the tree, I clasped my hands in front of me and bowed my head.

"I'll wait then," I said aloud. "I'll wait until you're ready to let me help. I'll wait forever just…" I almost choked on my next words, but took a deep, steadying breath and continued, "just come home, Inuyasha."

All of a sudden, that strange tingling shock coursed through me again. My eyes flew up to the Goshiboku, right to the scar embedded in the trunk. A little glint met my curious gaze. "What in the-?" I questioned, leaning forward to examine the glint with my fingers.

I met a sharp end, and pulled my hand back with a protest. But the glint continued to bother me, and I tried again. This time I got it free, and opened my palm to reveal a tiny purple crystal. "What?" I asked.

I whirled around, and was greeted by a sound punch across the jaw. I was knocked back into the Goshinboku, my body striking the trunk hard as the air fled from my lungs.

"Now, now, Juuroumaru," a woman's voice cooed, no need to get rough."

I looked up, and found myself staring into the made-up face of one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. She was resting on one hip, her arms crossed over her chest. Her thin frame was wrapped in the sort of suit that appears in Vogue on some half-starved model. She was carrying a fan, and her short black hair was tied up in a stylish bun. Her eyes were a stunning red.

"Who-Who are you?" I asked, pushing myself up.

"Me?" she asked coyly, pointing her fan at her chest. "Atashi wa Kagura, vice president of the Third Sector. And this here is Juuroumaru, co-vice president of the Sixth Sector."

Government officials. Heads of Sectors. _Oh my God_, I thought, _I am so dead_. "What do you want?" I snapped.

She was holding a chain in one hand, and the chin led to a strange man with purple hair. He was on all fours, with a mask over his face. The sight of him made me ill. I reached for the gun I had the foresight to tuck inside my belt.

"We were sent here to wait for you, after you showed up last month," Kagura explained in a bored voice. She opened her fan and started to apply air pressure to her face. "Now, if you come with us easily, I promise we won't hurt your little friend down there in the car."

I took out my gun and fired three shots. One for Kagura, and two for that monster she was holding on to. Then, I turned and sprinted away.

I'd gotten about twenty feet when I was in a deadlock. That…thing named Juuroumaru was holding onto me, his palms pressed into the back of my neck. Kagura approached slowly, examining a wound in her chest.

"Gross. You've ruined my suit," she commented.

"What the fuck are you?!" I shrieked, my stomach rebelling against the sight of her fingering her bullet wound. I threw up all over the ground.

"Oh dear," Kagura said, clicking her tongue in disgust. "I'm not cleaning that up." She finished looking at her bullet wound.

"All right, Juuroumaru, let's get her back to the boss."

I needed to get away. My arms flew up, and slipped through Juuroumaru's hold. I turned around and kicked him squarely across the jaw, He fell away, and I had time to notice that my last two shots had made quick work of his left leg. And yet he was still moving. I felt dizzy.

I punched Kagura in the stomach. She crumbled over my fist and I took my cue to get away. Juuroumaru grabbed my ankles though, and I tumbled forward, hitting the stone so hard that I blacked out for a couple seconds.

The instant I regained consciousness, I pulled out my gun and fired into Juuroumaru's left shoulderblade. His arm fell away, deadened, but his face failed to register the pain. I kicked his other hand away and struggled to my feet.

My hair didn't follow, and barked in agony as Kagura attempted to jerk my hair out of my head.

"You little bitch," she growled. "That fucking hurt."

I slapped her hand away, then turned and pointed my gun right between her eyes. Apparently, Kagura was unwilling to test the potency of my bullet. She blinked demurely, and lifted her hands. I backed away a couple of feet. Then I spun around and ran for my life.

I ran right into a chest clothed in a familiar red t-shirt. I looked up, tears itching at the corners of my eyes, and breathed, "Inuyasha?"

(-)(-)(-)

The water stops. My back burns, seared by the pressure. My captors walk forward, their polished shoes making small splashes in the thin layer of water that covers the floor. One of them reaches up and unlocks the cuffs around my tiny wrists. I crumble to the wet earth despite my efforts to remain standing.

"There now, Kagome," he cooes in a sugary voice. His hand begins to smooth my dripping hair. "You're feeling rather tired now, aren't you?"

My eyelids droop in response. He takes me under the arms and helps me to my feet. "Stay there a minute, we'll get you a frock and a stretcher."

"I can walk," I mutter. I take a step forward, and find myself back on the…ground.

I'm already falling asleep.

The men leave, and then they come back. They put me in the little potato sack they call a frock, and help me lie down on the stretcher. They carry me into a dark room. They apply cooling ointment to my back. One man turns to the other and says, "See, this is the way to break a proud mule like this one: provide the sickness and the cure; cause them nearly unbearable pain, and then take away their martyrdom."

I'm too tired to really care.

A man in white gives me some sort of tea to drink. It makes me feel heady and light, and dissolves the pain in my limbs. I drink two glasses.

Something cool is attached to my temples. I am placed in a chair. I am given earplugs. Someone starts speaking, slowly. I can hardly understand, and at first I must strain to hear the voice above the sound of running water.

"Softer," it says, "softer and softer, Kagome. Softer and softer, into sleep."

It doesn't make much sense, but it works, slowly. A man in white comes with another cup of tea. Or…no…it just smells like the…tea. He puts it…

The voice…is still talking, but it's saying…something…else. I listen, and then…

(-)(-)(-)

I wake up suddenly. My cheeks are wet. My eyes are sore.

"…dead," the voice is telling me. "Inuyasha is dead. Inuyasha is dead. Inuyasha…"

A man in white brings me a glass of tea. I drink it. I begin to feel heady and light. I can't remember whether it's my cheeks that are sore and my eyes that are wet, or whether my feet are still attached to my body, but I'm certain of one thing:

_Inuyasha is dead._

- Ichimu


	11. Duet

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, and I don't materially profit from writing fanfiction.

Author's Note: Sorry, it's been a LONG time, but I'm in college (finally!). If I tell you how busy I've been, I'm not sure you'd believe me, but I had rehearsal from 7-10 every weeknight for the past two months, rehearsal from 4-7 on Fridays, 2-6 on Saturdays, and 1-5 on Sundays. I've been busy.

Translations:

Onegai: please

Chapter 11, Duet

Inuyasha took my arms in his hands, and I stared up at him, my mouth open. His golden eyes were narrow, one black brow raised. His lip was folded back in a growl, revealing pointed eyeteeth. His long-fingered hands dug into my fleshy arms. He pushed me out of the way. "What's going on here?" he asked testily.

It was just the voice that I remembered. Three months vanished in a heartbeat.

Kagura stood. Juuroumaru stepped back. "Oh dear," Kagura oozed, looking Inuyasha over quickly. "The mutt's come to spoil our fun, Juuroumaru."

"Shut up, Kagura," Inuyasha spat. He took a step towards them, his knuckles cracking. "I'm not in a very forgiving mood today."

"Neither am I," Kagura said, narrowing her red eyes and scowling. She pointed to the hole in her chest. "That little bitch shot right through me." Suddenly she lit up, her face tightening as her eyebrows lifted. A visible quiver passed through her frame and she leaned forward. "What's she to you, anyway?"

"I said get out of here!" Inuyasha cried, rushing forward.

Kagura flicked her fan, and Inuyasha was thrown back. "Don't get too excited, mutt. I wouldn't want your filthy hands ruining my suit any more." She reached into her bun and pulled out a feather. "For the time being, Juuroumaru should be more than enough for the likes of you." She threw her feather up in the air. It grew until it was long and wide enough to be a magic carpet. Kagura turned to Juuroumaru and her fan twitched. Juuroumaru's mask fell away to reveal lavender lips, from which issued a strange white light.

"Bring the bitch, Jurroumaru. Alive," Kagura said. "The mutt and his companions are expendable. Do whatever you want with them." She laughed and jumped onto her overgrown feather. They lifted off into the night and were gone.

As soon as they disappeared, Juuroumaru headed for Inuyasha. I gasped and scrambled away, remembering the feeling of that monster's hands around my neck. Inuyasha punched the creature soundly across the jaw. Then, he barked and crumbled.

"Inuyasha!"

I looked up. Sango and Miroku were sprinting across the shrine grounds. Hiraikotsu, Sango's huge bone-colored boomerang glimmered darkly in the moonlight. Miroku's gun was pointed at that inhuman creature kneeling on the tile before Inuyasha.

There was a rattle in Inuyasha's voice as he breathed. I went to him, swallowing the panic that was building in my stomach as Juuroumaru's eyes followed me. I took Inuyasha's shoulder in my hand, and recoiled quickly. My hand was covered in blood. "Inuyasha!" I managed. "Inuyasha, he didn't touch you!"

Sango grabbed me and pulled me back. I struggled for a moment, and then allowed myself to be removed to a safe place in the shadow of the Goshinboku, away from the battle. Her mahogany hair was mounted high on her head, and a strand was arched across one dark eye. "Kagome-chan," she whispered. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," I lied. My head was pounding and I had bruises all over my wrists and tailbone. "But Inuyasha-"

"Don't worry," said Sango, smiling. "Inuyasha's a lot tougher than he looks. You just stay here, ok? We don't need anything happening to you."

"Right, ok," I said, settling against the Goshinboku's smooth bark. I really did feel more peaceful here. Sango touched my face and then ran to join the battle.

I sat there, listening to the battle sounds, to the grunts and suppressed screams and gunshots and the clash of metal until I thought I was going to explode. Gathering my courage, I peeked around the trunk.

Inuyasha was flung into the Goshinboku. I jerked back, gasping his name. He looked around, but he didn't look at me. He looked past me…_through _me. A cold shiver went up and down my spine as that golden gaze burned a hole through my heart. "Inuyasha…" I muttered. There was a gaping hole in his stomach, his shoulder was bleeding, but as I said his name, he leapt to his feet. Without a second glance in my direction, he ran back into the fray.

Juuroumaru dove for Miroku, and Miroku fired. Even before the beast was near him, Miroku's footing was thrown out from under him and he fell back onto the tile floor. The impact momentarily stunned him, his bullet went awry, and he would've been devoured by Juuroumaru's gaping maw if Sango hadn't appeared at the moment and blown the creature away with her boomerang.

My mind was spinning. I had seen something. In the instant between Miroku's gunshot and his fall, there had been a clean flash of light skirting across his ankles. Now Juuroumaru turned his attention to Sango. I leaned in, my eyes straining for some hint of…!

"Sango-chan! Beneath you!"

Sango wheeled out of the way just in time, and her side was preserved from injury. Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Juuroumaru all whirled around to look at me.

"You're a smart one, aren't you, girlie? Figuring out our little game?" oozed an icy voice near my ear.

I whirled around, and found myself face to face with a terrible, strange, clawed creature. Its body was short and tapering, and it bore a face identical to Juuroumaru's, only that it was sharpened with intelligence and cunning. It was no longer than my forearm, but it sent shivered up my spine.

"Kagome-chan!" Sango gasped.

"My name is Kageroumaru," the creature reported. "I live inside my brother's stomach most of the time, but Kagura released me when she took Juuroumaru's muzzle away. I'm the sentient one, the one who pulls my brother's strings. You're the first one to ever realize that there's two of us. How interesting. I wonder, girl, how long you'll be able to keep up with my moves if I take out your pretty eyes?"

The air rushed from my lungs. My mind told me to run, but I was frozen. Kageroumaru charged forward and I raised my arm in a feeble attempt to block the attack. It never came. I opened my eyes and Kageroumaru was clutched tightly in one of Inuyasha's hands.

"So all I have to do is defeat you and then Juuroumaru will be nothing more than an empty husk, huh?" Inuyasha asked. "Thanks for letting me know."

Kageroumaru snicked.

"Inuyasha!" But my warning came too late. Juuroumaru's punch landed soundly on the back of Inuyasha's head and he toppled over. By the time he had shaken off the attack and pushed Juuroumaru away, Kageroumaru was gone again.

"Where is he, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked.

"Underground. He- he's underground!" I stuttered, amazed by what I was seeing. I could make out the figure burying under the ground clearly. But I didn't see his features. He appeared before me glimmering with a dim violet light like the one from the tree.

"Sango!" Miroku called. Sango tossed Miroku a small vial. Miroku broken it over his hands and then thrust his palms against the ground. He grunted, then a bluish light spread out across the ground. The purple light that represented Kageroumaru writhed, coiled, and twisted, then streaked to the surface. He emerged coughing and sputtering, and within Inuyasha's reach.

A moment later, the creature was beheaded, and Sango had torn through Juuroumaru's torso. The formidable pair had been defeated.

"Kagome-chan, are you alright?" Sango asked, running over to me.

"Fine," I said. "I'm just fine."

"What's that in your hand, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked, approaching slowly. His brow was darkened and a frown formed lines on either side of his mouth.

"What? This?" I opened my palm, displaying the small purple stone. "I haven't the faintest clue."

Sango gasped. Miroku looked at Inuyasha. I closed my palm and pulled it towards me instinctively. "What?" I asked, my gaze flickering from one face to the next. "What's wrong?"

I looked at Inuyasha. He was pale, and his golden eyes watched me…stared through me. They seared the inside of my chest, and I felt like I was suffocating. Then he turned and walked away.

"Inuyasha!" I called, scrambling to my feet. "Inuyasha, wait!"

He didn't stop. He kept walking away from me, towards the torii. My arm whipped out and caught his wrist. Still, he did not look at me. We stood still. I watched his back, and he watched the ground. I could feel his pulse under my fingers.

"Why won't you look at me?" I asked.

He flinched, but made no answer.

"What have I done? Inuyasha, please, answer me! What have I done but wait for you for the past three months? What have I done but worry about you? What have I done but… Inuyasha!" I was cut off as he tore his wrist away. I fumbled for and attained a fistful of his red shirt. He quieted.

"Inuyasha…onegai…" I pressed my face into his back so that he could feel the moisture on my cheeks.

But then he kept walking, leaving me feeling more alone and empty than before.

(…)(…)(…)

"Wake up."

I respond to the command, opening my eyes and raising my deadened limbs. Fukouka is standing over me, grinning.

"How do you feel?"

I don't answer. My eyes are still sore and my head is pounding. My throat is dry. My cheeks are moist. I cried all night.

"Lost your fight, girl?" He grabs my arm and steers me to the door, not bothering to cuff my hands. The door slides open under his touch.

I'm free, stumbling away from him as quickly as I can. I have no idea where I'm going, but I'm getting away from here. I'm getting out. There's no more reason, there's no more point. If I stay here any longer I'll go mad.

I'm hit. I topple into blackness.

"Are you ok?"

"Fine. Why?" I slammed the door shut in his face.

"You seem angry," he said, opening it again and peering around it at me.

"Why would I be angry?"

"I don't know. Did Miroku t-?"

"Shut up, shut up!" I retreated into my room.

Chilling wind hit my face. I buried my face deeper in my scarf. He came up behind me.

"What're you looking at?"

"The water," I said.

"Why?"

"Because…" My voice trailed away. I smiled up at him, unconcerned for the moisture building in my eyes. "I don't know."

I expected him to frown at my tears and walk away, but then he closed his eyes and nodded. He looked back out across the water. "It's pretty, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it really is."

(…)(…)(…)

The door opened. I looked up, expecting Sango come back to check on me. I was surprised to see Inuyasha strolling inside. He stopped in the doorway, his hand still vaguely cradling the handle. His golden eyes surveyed the room. I couldn't read his expression. I stood perfectly still, as though he were a mirage that would shatter if I moved or thought to hard about whether he was really standing in front of me.

In the two hours between this moment and the conclusion of the fight with Juuroumaru, I had convinced myself that I would never see him again.

"Nothing's changed much," he said at last. He looked past me into the bedroom. "The mirror's gone."

"I broke it," I said without inflection.

"Oh."

We were in a headlock, a checkmate, and a tête-à-tête. We stared beyond the other one, avoiding the direct confrontation of our gazes. It was a maniacal, conceived little dance, and we knew every step.

"Are you hungry?" I offered finally, lost for words.

"Yes," he said.

I started towards the kitchen. He caught my arm. I turned around. He was looking at me. I jumped a little, meeting those fantastic eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?"

"For making you cry."

He released me and I went to the kitchen. I made him pasta. After dinner, I went to bed, and he fell asleep on the coach.

(…)(…)(…)

I'm alone. Alone and it's dark. I'm cold. I'm hungry.

_Inuyasha is dead._

"NO!"

(…)(…)(…)

I loved him.

We were walking down the street, and a little boy tripped on the uneven sidewalk. He began to cry. I knelt beside him, cooing softly until his tears had subsided. The boy's mother came over, thanked me, and led her son away.

Inuyasha stood nearby, and had watched my ministrations carefully. When I rejoined him, he took my hand and turned my palm up for inspection. He frowned and dropped it.

I looked at my hand. "What?" I called at his back.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you look at my hand?" I asked.

He took a long time before answering. "My mom had hands like yours."

We continued to walk. A few minutes later, I tucked my hand against his. He didn't pull away.

- Ichimu


	12. Guitar Solo

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, nor do I profit from writing fanfiction.

Author's Note: Hey-o! Here's the next chapter. There's not really much to say up here but I hope you all review. The reviews really are just a nice, quick way to give the author feedback, and they're always much, _much _appreciated. It takes five seconds, so just do it. Please?

I got into the next opera, which means starting mid-January, my rehearsal schedule is going to pick up again. Hopefully, I will be able to continue to update regularly (which means a chapter a week).

For now, I've got to haul my butt to Philosophy.

Chapter 12, Guitar Solo

We achieved a certain amount of normalcy after the incident with Juuroumaru. I didn't ask Inuyasha where he'd been for three months, and he made no indication that he wanted to tell me. I woke up every morning, took a shower, and went to work. Inuyasha was distant, but at least he was present. And his presence made me feel safe.

I was slowly realizing that my future happiness depended upon his presence in my life.

(…)(…)(…)

"Did you love him?"

I jerk out of my reverie. My heart is pounding pain through my veins. Fukouka's face is inches from me, and I'm wishing that he had brushed his teeth this morning. I gag on the smell and turn my face away. "In love? With whom?"

"Don't play this game with me, Kagome. You know who I mean," Fukouka snaps.

I wish my chair had a seat. My nose itches.

"Were you in love with Inuyasha?"

But I'm already far away…

(…)(…)(...)

Miroku and I continued our lessons. I was learning how to cope with verbal torture. I was learning how to keep my mind above the taunting of my captors. I frequently crumbled under the strain of dealing with hours of questions, but I was improving. In history I was learning about Aristotle and Plato, and the smell of the dusty tomes haunted my dreams. Miroku was also teaching me how to paint. I had little talent, but I loved the smooth lines of the paintbrush, and the discipline of mixing paints and brush positions.

Two and a half weeks passed. Spring was in full bloom now. I opened the windows of the apartment. The winds whisked through, bringing the scent of dew and flowers in the morning, and rain in the evening. Our curtains billowed like the sails of a great ship that was setting a course for a brighter future.

Where I had been empty before, I was beginning to be filled, and I was being filled with hope…and love. Nothing seemed impossible anymore. My family was waiting for me around the next corner, and the words that Inuyasha had spoken to me on the hospital bed so long ago…_"But what comes next…you're not prepared for it_…" Those words belonged to a different time, and a different Kagome.

My happy dream shattered in a single sentence shared over dinner. "I'm going out," Inuyasha announced as he stuffed the last bite of steak in his mouth.

"Where are you going?" It was unusual for Inuyasha to go out so late. The sun was beginning to set.

"Out," he said. There was a particular finality in his voice that I dared not challenge. He tucked a cigarette in between his lips and stood. The lighter illuminated the end of the cigarette and grayish smoke leaked from his mouth. He looked down at me, kneeling beside the table, collecting his dishes. "I won't be back until morning."

"Are you going to be doing something dangerous?" I asked.

"Hopefully not." He headed for the door. Golden beams of sunlight slanted against the horizon, and filled the kitchen with a warm glow. Inuyasha looked back at me, and one eye was flooded with light. "Be safe. Lock the door and close the windows. Don't let anyone in."

I smiled at him, pleased to find that he was concerned. "I'll be fine. _You _be safe."

Inuyasha grunted and walked away. A little "sayonara" lingered on the threshold before the door clicked shut.

Sango came over that night to watch a movie. We sipped cola and she told me about her childhood in the mountains. Her mother had died in childbirth with her little brother, but she had never been sad as a child. Her father and her little brother, Kohaku were all the family that she could have wanted. Her father worked for a small company, and the men in the company were like uncles to Sango. Her father was the one who taught her how to fight.

"I was working for the government, in their special tasks force by the time I was fourteen," Sango said. "And then…" Her voice trailed off. She looked at the screen. The movie was over. She got up. "Well, I guess I'll get going."

I nodded and hugged my friend. "Good night, Sango-chan. Sleep well, and say hello to Inuyasha for me."

"I will-!" Sango clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Ah ha! So I was right; he's over at the hospital!" I said triumphantly.

Sango laughed so hard that she had to wipe the mirth from her eyes. "Miroku's done a good job training you, Kagome-chan!" She sighed. "Yes, Inuyasha's over at the hospital."

"Why? Did something happen?" I asked.

"No, not really…" Sango chewed her lip and looked away.

"I won't tell him if you tell me," I promised, putting a hand over my chest.

Sango laughed, but shook her head. "I'm really sorry, Kagome-chan, but I can't tell you. You'll have to trust that Inuyasha will tell you when he's ready for you to know."

At that point, I could do nothing but accept that for whatever reason (and surely, it was a good one), Sango couldn't tell me why my husband had chosen to spend the night away from home. Either way, I decided not to worry about it and take her words to heart; Inuyasha would either tell me, or he wouldn't. As long as I was included in what was coming next, I didn't care how much I knew; as long as I was helping to get my family back, I was content to let Inuyasha take the reins and steer me.

I hugged Sango goodbye and went to bed. It took me a long time to fall asleep. I lay on my side, hugging my knees to my chest. _You're being ridiculous_, I thought. _You went three months without Inuyasha, he comes back for two and half weeks, and suddenly you can't sleep without him in the apartment? _Eventually, though, exhaustion won over paranoia and I nodded off.

I woke up in a cold sweat. My sheets were twisted around my ankles and my fists clutched the fabric so that my knuckles were white. I knew it at once: someone was in the house.

"_Close the windows._"

I had left the kitchen window open. The door to the kitchen was closed, but the door might have grown eyes; I could feel it watching me. A horrid chill passed through me. I scrambled out of bed, caught between trying not to make a sound and the hysteria of a mouse trapped under a cat's paw.

I had secured the handle of the door to the hallway, and I was thinking that I might get out when the fabric across my back was split open and I had to flatten myself against the door to keep my torso intact. I rolled across the wall, avoiding the path of a shuriken, and faced my attacker.

Silly me, I thought ninja only existed in manga.

(…)(…)(...)

"I asked you a question, girl!" Fukouka spits in my face.

"What do you care?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow at him. "What do you care for my relationship with my kidnapper?"

"Don't play smart with me," Fukouka warns. "I know that you were there of your own free will."

"That's not what the TVs say," I respond dully.

"Get her out of here," Fukouka says. "Send her upstairs."

I'm taken roughly from my chair. My hands are bound behind me, and a brace keep my elbows from bending. I saunter between two stoic guards. I catch a glimpse of myself in their sunglasses.

I don't recognize myself. With a churning stomach, I redirect my gaze to the floor. My face I covered in bruises, my upper lip is swollen, and my hair is askew. I look a mess, and my mind is dulling. I can feel it. My thoughts get tossed about like birds in a windstorm.

I doubt how much longer I'll last.

The door slides open, and my guards lead me inside. My blood freezes when I see the man standing in the center of the room. I try to break free of my guards, but their huge masses close around and smother my tiny frame. A harsh blow breaks upon my body, and the air is crushed from my lungs as I crumble to the floor.

His golden eyes find mine. I stare into their depths and my soul collapses in upon itself.

"Hello, Kagome," he murmurs.

I steal my mind away before the first blow is struck.

(…)(…)(...)

I turned off the panic, the hysteria, and the exhaustion as Miroku had taught me. I grabbed the hand that boasted the ninja's shuriken and kicked him in the stomach. He stumbled back, tripped over a discarded magazine, and hit the bookshelf. I fumbled for the door handle and ripped the door open.

Another ninja was waiting for me. I slipped through an opening in his stance. I gained his back, but he bent backwards and grabbed my ankles. He yanked them out from under me, and I smacked against the floor. I rolled onto my stomach, shaking stars from my vision, but I wasn't quick enough to avoid being speared in the shoulder.

My leg shot out and planted a kick under his ribs. Leaving his shuriken in my shoulder to keep my blood from spurting out, I scrambled to my feet and attempted to place a kick on his temple. He grabbed my foot and twisted my ankle.

The crack echoed throughout my body as my bones snapped.

I moaned and hit his nose with the heel of my hand. My ankle was free now. I skirted him, clutching his nose, and with my good leg, kicked one of his knees in.

I was grabbed from behind and a serious blow was laid upon my already weakened ankle. I half-crumbled against my attacker, and a dagger planted itself under my chin. I wriggled, but my wrists were caught in his hand. The dagger pricked my skin and a red ribbon trickled down my neck. I stopped moving.

"Don't over do it, man," said the other ninja, his face still creased in pain. "You always over do it. The boss wants this one alive."

"And yet _our _boss said that if this one just so happened to get herself killed during the fighting…. Anyway, she wasn't going to be beat up about it," the ninja holding me recalled with a laugh.

"You bastards…" I growled. "Who do you work for?"

The eyebrows of the ninja in front of me shot up past his hairline. "I'm impressed, little lady. You've got some spunk...some gall to be asking questions like that." He limped forward and took my chin in one of his course hands. "Or do you think you'll be saved?"

I shivered under the threat in his voice, but I kept my face neutral. Of course the others would come for me. It was just a matter of stalling until they arrived.

The ninja slapped me so hard that I barely managed to stay standing. He laughed as I shook the spots from my eyes. "You little minx; don't you dare be fresh with me. Your friends will come to save you, you'll bring them here yourself, in fact." He looked at his companion. "Now, go ahead and have your fun with her."

The ninja holding me, Subordinate ninja, swung me out of his hold. I tried to steady myself, but as my weight came down upon my sprained ankle, I lost control and slammed into the coffee table. Subordinate picked me up like a leaf and tossed me to the other side of the room, where I hit the wall. A harsh cough brought the taste of blood into my mouth.

Subordinate approached slowly. Using the wall to support me, I inched up the wall with my good leg. Subordinate's arm reached out to take me throat. Instead, I ducked low, and spun so that I kicked him in the stomach. He folded over in surprise. I grabbed his arm and brought it back to his shoulder blade. I slid my other arm under his, grabbed a shuriken from the pouch at his side, and pressed it against his neck. With my back against the wall, I glared icily at Senior ninja.

"Let me go," I warned. "Or I'll kill him."

For the second time tonight, Senior's eyebrows showed him to be impressed. "That's quite a threat, girlie. Are you sure you're capable of something like that?"

I stiffened and tucked the shuriken in closer to Subordinate's neck. The man did not flinch.

"It would be easy," Senior said. "Go ahead, just flick your wrist and he will slump against you, lifeless, empty. His eyes will lose their color, you'll feel the breath in his lungs slow…stagger…and disappear. Go ahead, girl. Kill him."

I shivered and released Subordinate.

He turned around and, with one hand taking control of my face, pressed my head into the wall until I thought it was going to explode. While my head was being closed in this makeshift vice, his fist pounded the remaining fight out of my body.

I was released. I melted to the floor, emptied of the ability to raised a finger. Senior was holding my cell phone. I could hear the ringing. "I'm calling number one on your speed dial. Who's this? Inuyasha? Well, you better tell him not to come over here, hmm?" he said. The smile that creased his beady little eyes was diabolical.

"If he comes here, we'll kill him." He tucked the phone against my ear. A muffled hello reached my ear.

"I-Inuyasha?" I stuttered. The blood in my throat made it hard to speak.

"Kagome?"

"Please, please don't-!"

The phone was ripped from my hands.

"That's quite enough of that," Senior sneered. "Now. Be a good girl and take a nap."

I passed out before I knew what they had done.

(…)(…)(...)

The door opened. I heard the gentle whoosh and moan of the hinges. My thoughts moved at the sluggish pace of molasses, running together incoherently across my fickle consciousness. Inuyasha was home. I tried to stand, but my limbs wouldn't respond. One of my legs…where did it go; anyway, I couldn't feel it. I pushed my eyelids open, blinked, and rolled my face in the direction of the door.

"Inuyasha…" I breathed.

He was cloaked in shadow. But I knew it was him. My heart struck my ribcage oddly, and I tried to recall why I didn't want Inuyasha to be here.

He came to me in a moment, and Sango and Miroku jogged into the room. I tried to focus on Inuyasha's face, but the features slipped past recognition.

"Kagome," he whispered. "Kagome, can you hear me?"

I mumbled his name again, weakly. My vision must be cloudy. Surely, this was Inuyasha's voice, but his features were somewhat altered. I wished for some moonlight to see by.

Inuyasha touched my face, sending a warm shiver down my spine. "Stay awake, Kagome. We're going to get you to the hospital, ok?"

No, because something was supposed to happen first. I tried to think of what the ninja had said… The ninja! "Inuyasha, abunai!"

(…)(…)(...)

"You still there, girl?" questions a voice near my ear.

I open my eyes. His golden orbs find mine through the dim room. My entire frame screams in protest and my heart putters feebly under the weight of that gaze. _Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha_.

"Do you remember me?" his icy voice reflects no emotion. The frown on his lips seems permanent.

"Of course," I manage, struggling to regain my feet. I meet those terrible golden eyes. My guards bow and leave the room. We are alone in this black hole, which is slowly sucking our souls from our bodies. I manage a vain smirk. "How could I forget you…Sesshoumaru?"

- Ichimu


	13. Let the Lead Guitarist Riff

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Inuyasha, and I do not profit from writing fan fiction.

Author's Note: OK, there was a slight delay, I know. Sorry about that. This week has been so ridiculously hectic. It's an extra long chapter, though, which should compensate for the delay a little. Also, there was some research involved in this process, so give me a break.

Translations:

Chiksou: Damn

Baka: Idiot

Youkai: Loosely translates to demon. Youkai are not necessarily evil, and exist in the physical world. They usually have animalistic characteristics.

_Chapter 13, Let the Lead Guitarist Riff_

"Had enough, Kagome?"

"No!" I cry. "More please!"

The pressurized water hits my back like a barrage of needles. I can't tell whether it's hot or cold. I can hardly breathe. I feel certain that at any minute, the skin on my back will peel away in horror to the abuse. And yet I won't give in. I refuse to let them see me suffer.

"Stop the water."

I crumble to my knees, but when the attendants come to help me up, I push them away. "Don't touch me," I spit.

"Now, now," Fukouka scolds. "That's hardly ladylike, is it?"

I wrap the offered robe around me and turned to Fukouka. I still can't rise to my feet, but I give him the dirtiest look that I can manage. "Your ministrations have intensified of late, Fukouka. What, are you getting anxious? Or are you frightened of what your lack of results will mean to the President?"

Fukouka slaps me, but compared to the pain in my back, it feels like a pat on the cheek. "Shut up, you hussy."

"I'm surprised they even let you work here." I say calmly. The wall provides support as I struggle to my feet. "You're a cracked old fool, worn-out junk."

Fukouka reddens, but just as I think we might have some fun, he smoothes back his hair and readjusts his glasses. "Let her spend the next six hours in isolation. See if that doesn't remind her of the respect she owes a senior officer."

My stomach falls. That cold, black hell called isolation. I shiver at the thought, but I keep my face neutral. As the attendants bind my arms and legs and lead me away, I wink at the old crackpot. "See you in six hours," I say cheerily.

"I look forward to our chat," he promises.

(…)(…)(…)

I couldn't tell which was up and which was down, but I was holding onto Senior ninja's wrist with every fiber of strength left in my body. I remember that my vision was splotchy and there was the coppery taste of blood in my mouth. A cool wind pressed against my back, chilling the sweat that trickled down my spine. My hair was stuck to my cheeks, and my ankle was swollen to the size of a bowling ball. But I was holding the Senior ninja's wrist, and the kunai that had been intended for Inuyasha was inches from my face.

"Move girl," Senior ninja said icily. "I will kill you."

Inuyasha's arm circled my waist and pulled my away. "Are you crazy?" he was asking me.

"No, I don't think so," I replied. "Just a bit dizzy."

The ninja wasn't keen on letting us get away. He jumped in front of us and placed a firm kick in Inuyasha's shoulder. He groaned and dropped me. I rolled to avoid a sharp impact with the ground.

Inuyasha grabbed my hand and swung me over to Sango, who was standing by the door. "Sango, watch her! We're going to the roof," Inuyasha commanded.

"Inuyasha, you can't-!" Sango began to protest.

"I'll go with him," Miroku said as Inuyasha headed for the window. Senior ninja followed at Inuyasha's heels, and Subordinate ninja emerged from the shadow of the couch.

"Figures he would leave me with the women," he whined. "I never get to have any fun, senpai!"

Sango pushed me behind her. "Kagome-chan," she said, "make a run for it. Head straight for the hospital and ask for Kisume. She'll know what to do with you." She handed me a gun and began to secure her hair in a high ponytail. She smiled at me before slipping a mask over her mouth. "Be safe, Kagome-chan."

"You too, Sango-chan," I said. I tucked the gun into the back of my pajamas and headed out the door. I took the stairs as quickly was possible. When I was outside, I skirted the building, heading for the alley that my bedroom window overlooked. Inside the alley, I located the fire escape, lowered it, and began to climb.

It was a long, arduous process, and a little part of me felt guilty about betraying Sango's confidence. Still, I couldn't just run away when my friends were in danger. Especially when Inuyasha… He seemed so different. My ankle slipped on one of the bars and it fell loose. I grabbed onto the rail above and hung suspended twenty feet over the alleyway. I risked a glance down as the bar hit the ground with a tiny clatter. Swallowing my stomach, I scrambled up the next couple rungs to a landing.

I flexed my foot, which wasn't as swollen as I thought it would be. I stretched, collected myself, and then began to climb the next ladder.

The only decent light came from a sputtering street lamp hanging over the alley. The roof was a labyrinth of half-shadow. I slid over the wall and ducked into a pool of darkness as I waited for my eyes to adjust to the dim starlight.

I could hear the definite sounds of a fight. Feet shuffled across the concrete, grunts and moans reached my ears, and now and again, a taunt or question would strike a chord in my consciousness. I crept forward, peering into the blackness for some sign of my protectors. I made no sound as I slinked across the roof, and the darkness cloaked my progress. I could hear Sango's fight below me.

All of sudden, they were on top of me. I flattened myself against the wall as Senior ninja stumbled into my line of sight. He was grabbing at his eyes and muttering. Miroku swooped out of the shadows and planted a clean punch in the ninja's stomach.

A cry came from below. Miroku twisted around. "Sango!" he cried just before Senior ninja retaliated, knocking Miroku back into the shadows. I heard him hit the wall hard.

"Miroku," Inuyasha called nearby. Subconsciously, I reached out my hand to the sound of his voice. "Miroku, are you alright? Say something!" There was no reply. "Chiksou! You damn Government bastard!"

A couple swift hits were landed in the darkness, a brief scrimmage, and then Inuyasha was bowled back, right into me.

"Ugh! Inuyasha!" I moaned as I was crushed against the wall. I pushed him away, untangling my lips from his as quickly as my heart was racing.

"Kagome! Damn it, girl. What are you doing up here?" Inuyasha barked, whirling around.

I gasped. This was not Inuyasha. "I-Inuyasha…? Your hair… What happened to your hair?"

It was black as pitch. His golden eyes had melted away to reveal bluish grey orbs. His dog ears were missing, and his nails were flat and rounded. I gawked at him in disbelief. He sighed and looked away. "If you think you'll be protected like always, girl, you've got another thing coming." He started to get up. I grabbed his hand.

"You are Inuyasha, aren't you?" I started as his eyes met mine. I was transfixed.

He bristled. "What the hell are you staring at?"

"You look…human…" I breathed.

Senior ninja lunged. Inuyasha grabbed me and leapt out of the way. I gasped a little as my ankle hit the concrete and Inuyasha blinked apologetically. "How's your ankle?" he asked.

"Broken, I think," I answered. Inuyasha whirled around, kicked Senior ninja's legs out from under him, and then leapt away with me again.

"Damn. Normally guys like this would be no problem," Inuyasha said as he set me lightly on the ground. "I can hardly even see anything, I can't smell a ding-dong thing, and I feel like a two year old hitting a sumo wrestler."

"Inuyasha…" I said, touching his arm, "what happened?"

"For a hanyou such as Inuyasha," Miroku said, leaping out of the darkness to ward off Senior ninja's latest attack, "there are times when he will lost his youkai power." Miroku hit Senior ninja across the jaw, Inuyasha grabbed me, and together we leapt onto an adjoining roof. We tucked ourselves away in the shadows to regroup.

"Miroku-sama," I breathed.

"Yo, Miroku," Inuyasha said sharply, though I could see the relief untangling the tension in his shoulders, "nice job making me worry."

"Sorry, Inuyasha. I had something to take care of downstairs," Miroku said.

"Anyway, Kagome-chan," Sango said, coming up behind me. "Since this is a matter of life or death for a hanyou in many cases, he would never reveal this time to anyone. Inuyasha's time is that of the new moon. We only just found out recently, Miroku and I."

"Yeah," said Miroku, rubbing the back of his neck, "and we fought beside him for years. Some trust, eh, Inuyasha?"

"If you knew that about me, Miroku, you would've run away a long time ago," said Inuyasha, frowning. "That I would have this disgusting weakness…"

Sango frowned. "As usual, Inuyasha. You have so little faith in us."

"And what about me?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. Everyone turned to me, and I beat back a blush as I met Inuyasha's eyes. "I'm your wife, Inuyasha. You couldn't even trust me?"

"I don't trust _anyone_!" Inuyasha shouted.

My heart flickered. My hand found my chest, and I blinked quickly to stem the moisture that was building in my eyes.

Inuyasha looked away. "You don't understand. You couldn't understand, Kagome. You've always been surrounded by family, friends: people who love and protect you. I… I've had to live alone, and that's how I got by. You have no right to scold me!"

I lowered my face. "I'm sorry…but…" Suddenly, I flared in protest. Alone? _Alone_? How dare he? Didn't friends surround him in this very moment? Whether or not he acknowledged them was his problem, but to lecture me? The audacity! "Inuyasha, you're an idiot! Baka baka baka baka!" I cried.

Senior ninja swooped out of the darkness and grabbed me, leaping away. I gasped and kicked him in the stomach. He buckled over. I gave a little cry of triumph that went dead in my throat a second later. I was falling, and there was no ground beneath me. I heard my name shouted from the rooftop. Senior ninja latched onto the fire escape and made a grab for my collar. I was jerked into immobility, and my collar cut into my windpipe.

Senior ninja tossed me like a rag doll through one of the windows. I hit something soft, and then tumbled to the floor. I was back in my bedroom, clutching my ankle in a pool of broken glass. Senior ninja perched on the windowsill, and by the lamplight I could see that he was definitely worse for wear.

This was no time for indecision. I turned off the pain, grabbed one of the shards, and flung it with all my might at Senior ninja. With a loud gasp, the man received my attack in his shoulder and bowled over onto the bed. I scrambled to my feet, slipped one of his kunai around my pointer finger, and tucked it under his chin.

"No more games," I said. "I'm tired and achy and I've got a shit load of drama going on topside. Tell me what's going on here or so help me-!"

"I've called for reinforcements," he said, calmly. "So no matter what you do to me, you and your friends are still going to end up dead."

My frustration got the better of me. I struck him in the temple, and he went limp. Working quickly, I tied him up in my sheets and hid him behind the bookshelf. Then I headed out the open window onto the fire escape.

"Inuyasha!" I cried. "He's called reinforcements."

Inuyasha landed in front of me. His dark brows were set over his luminous steely eyes. Sango and Miroku were heading down the fire escape above us. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I lied.

"Go with Sango and Miroku. I'm going to get rid of the ninja," he said. His voice carried that no-shit finality that I was hesitant to question.

"But Inuyasha," I managed, "You can't possibly take them all by yourself!"

"Ha! Are you worried about me, Kagome?" Inuyasha said with a snigger.

I blushed. "Well, that is… I-!" I stuttered lamely.

Inuyasha took something from his side that I hadn't noticed before. It was a sheath, and inside was a…sword? He shoved it towards me. "It was my father's sword. It has some sort of youkai power, but without my youkai blood to control it, it's useless to me. You take it with you. It should be enough to guard against whatever ninja come your way."

"Inuyasha…" I started. Swords were illegal, and the practice of sword fighting was a high offense. To imagine that Inuyasha had been carrying this around with him all this time… I stared down at the sword in wonder. The handle was battered, and the lacing on the hilt had come loose in places. It looked like a piece of junk, not a weapon I could use against my enemies.

Sango grabbed my arm. "Let's go, Kagome-chan." She steered me toward the ladder down.

"No, Sango-chan, I want to help-" I started. But Miroku wasn't going to have any of it. He scooped me up, tossed me over his shoulder, and headed down the ladder.

"Put me down, Miroku!" I cried. Inuyasha watched my descent for a minute, and then leapt away. I struggled against Miroku's hold, kicking and punching in my attempt to get free. Inuyasha needed me, or at least he needed his sword. I was determined to fight Miroku tooth and nail until he let me follow Inuyasha. "Put me down!"

"Cut it out, _please_, Kagome-sama," Miroku pleaded after I placed a firm kick in the small of his back. "If you don't stop, I really will drop you, and it's still a long ways down."

I stopped kicking, but I continued to pound at Miroku's chest with my fists. Inuyasha was going to die. He was going to die, and it was going to be all my fault. He gave me his sword and now he was going to die. He didn't have his sword, so he was going to die. I repeated it over and over again in my head until I was so entirely convinced that I began to shake.

We reached the bottom. Sango and Miroku dashed to the mouth of the alley. They turned right and headed down the street, dodging the pools of light that crisscrossed the street. About two blocks from the apartment, we were engaged by three ninja.

Miroku set me down as Sango ran into the fray, her giant boomerang cutting the air in front of her. "Stay here," he instructed me as he went to join her.

Like hell! As soon as Miroku and Sango were both tied up, I turned heel and ran back to the apartment as swiftly as my injured limb would allow.

"Kagome-chan!" Sango called after me. But there was nothing she could do. I was headed for Inuyasha and nothing was going to stop me, not even common sense.

I ducked around the light, running through the shadows. My breath was coming in ragged heaves, and the world was spinning. The sword pulsed in my hand, keeping time with my heart. I glanced at it as I ran. A youkai sword, huh? A gift from Inuyasha's father, huh? That made me wonder what kind of man…youkai Inuyasha's father had been. And what of his mother? If Inuyasha's father was a youkai, and Inuyasha was half-youkai, did that mean that Inuyasha's mother had been…human?

I reached the apartment and fumbled with the lock for a minute before my landlord opened the door. "Masashi-san," he mumbled, surprising me with Inuyasha's surname, "what are you doing out so late…in your…pajamas?"

"I got a phone call from my crazy aunt. I had to take it outside so that I wouldn't wake my husband. Anyway, the door shut behind me and I forgot my key," I said. The lie flowed off my tongue like syrup. Taku-san nodded and closed the door behind me.

"Don't forget your key next time," he said, He locked the door and headed back to his room, muttering good night.

I dashed up the stairs. The door to our apartment was slightly ajar. I pushed it open carefully, but there was no one inside. The couch was overturned, the coffee table was missing a leg. The window in my bedroom was shattered. The glass on one of my pictures was shattered. The apartment was almost as beat up as me. I headed for my bedroom, slipped out the window, and out onto the fire escape for the umpteenth time tonight.

I climbed more carefully than before, Sango's gun forming an uncomfortable weight against the small of my back. I cradled Inuyasha's sword in one arm, hoping to God that I had the strength to make it all the way to the top with just one arm. One rung after the next, and eventually I reached the roof.

The rooftops of backwater Tokyo hunched low against the earth, their backs cloaked in darkness. Sounds echoed strangely across the choppy surface of the concrete lake. Two men were sharing a cigarette a couple buildings down, and the wind carried the familiar scent to me. I scanned the horizon for some, _any _sign of Inuyasha. I hugged Inuyasha's sword to my chest and the steady pulsing helped to soothe my raw nerves.

(…)(…)(…)

The darkness has a voice. I shiver against the cold and try not to listen. How many hours have gone by? Or has it been months? Did they forget about me? Did Inuyasha forget about me? My chest collapses and the walls are closing in. I start to scream, hugging my knees to my chest as the world falls in around me. There isn't enough air. There isn't enough air!

_Inuyasha is dead._

The world is shutting in. I've been forgotten.

_Inuyasha is dead._

I can't breathe!

_Inuyasha is dead._

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HEAD!"

I'm spiraling down. Faces are flashing past me. The smell of cigarettes licks at my senses. Night, forests, earth, and cigarettes. Inuyasha! Sango is speaking to me, but Miroku wants me to imitate the style in this Michaelangelo? Picasso? Dégas? Dinner is ready. What are we having? Ramen. Again? I'm sorry I can't cook! Shakespeare wrote a painting of a play, or a play of a painting. Or maybe skis contain the secret to Plato's theory of tonal progression, and Beethoven OD-ed on Elvis in the Tower of London.

I love him, I love him, I love him and I'm going crazy.

I'm alone, I'm all alone and Inuyasha is never, ever coming.

The door opens.

"Hello, Kagome. I think you've been in here long enough, don't you?"

(…)(…)(…)

"Damn it, girl! Why can't you ever stay where I put you?" Inuyasha landed beside me.

"Inuyasha, I'm sorry, but your sword-!"

A ninja swung into the light, kicking Inuyasha in the back and bowling him over. I threw a punch at him, but he narrowly dodged and used the heel of his hand to knock me over. Inuyasha kicked him in the groin, and he tipped over the side of the building.

"Let's get out of here," Inuyasha said, grabbing my hand and jogging along the roof. We jumped onto an adjacent roof, and then onto another, where we met another ninja.

"Get out of the way," Inuyasha said, pushing me away. He engaged the ninja, and the two grappled with each other. I stumbled back into a third ninja.

At least, I assumed it would be a ninja. But turning around, I realized my grievous mistake. "Youkai!" I gasped as I met two slanted red eyes. The youkai was some sort of spider demon, with eight limbs whirring and creaking around me. Two fangs loomed out of his mouth, which was bent into a crooked smile. I was frozen in horror.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha barked. "Get out of there!"

The youkai reached for me, and I held out Inuyasha's sword feebly.

An amazing thing happened. There was a spark, a flash of bluish light, and then the demon hissed and backed away. "What happened?" I wondered, looking down at the sword.

"It's a barrier," Inuyasha said, running up beside me. "Now get out of here. I'll handle this guy, so run away." He charged at the youkai, but the creature was too fast for him. It swiveled out of the way, wrapped one of its many arms around Inuyasha's waist, and flipped him around. Another limb pushed Inuyasha into the air, and when the youkai opened his mouth, a ball of what looked like thread exploded from his body and caught Inuyasha mid-air. Latching onto the adjacent buildings, it formed a gigantic wed. The youkai's neck snaked forward, and his giant pincers pierced Inuyasha's shoulder.

Inuyasha cried out in pain, and I ran forward.

"Get out of here!" Inuyasha shouted through his pain. "Run away!"

"Run away? _Run away_!?" I shouted back. My eyes itched with tears. "You're always telling me to run away, that it's too dangerous for me. Everyone's always protecting me. Inuyasha, I won't run away and leave you here!" I leapt forward, holding Inuyasha's sword in front of me, praying that the barrier would work again, that it would save Inuyasha.

A bluish light formed, and the web around Inuyasha faded away. We tumbled from the sky, towards the ground far below. I grabbed Inuyasha as we fell, wrapping my arms around his torso as I vainly wished for the ability to sprout wings. Inuyasha was semi-conscious, his skin was hot to the touch, and he was shivering.

Miroku plucked us from the line of our descent. The force of our fall bowled him over, and we toppled onto the landing of some fire escape. "Well, then," Miroku said, "That was quite the adventure, wasn't it?"

Sango landed beside us, her boomerang covered in a spattering of blood. "The ninja won't cause us anymore trouble," she said to my questioning glance. "We'll have to wait until morning when Inuyasha can take care of those youkai."

"If he makes it until morning," Miroku said. He was leaning over Inuyasha, his finger tucked under Inuyasha's chin as he examined his pulse. "Sango, we've got to get him to the hospital, fast!"

Miroku hoisted Inuyasha onto his shoulders and headed down the fire escape. Sango and I followed, and once we were on the ground, we began jogging.

"Don't move him too much, Miroku!" Sango warned. "It looks like he's been poisoned, and you don't want to circulate the toxins any faster through his bloodstream."

"I know, I know!" Miroku said. "But we've got to pick the lesser of two evils here. It's possible we won't even make it to the hospital in time."

Sango pulled out her cell phone. "Kisume? Get the basement level ready. I'll need hot water, soup, hydrocortisone cream, antihistamines, a breath supporter, and a shit load of morphine." She hung up. "How's his breathing?"

"Bad," said Miroku. "Shallow and irregular."

"Is he getting stiff?"

"I can't tell," Miroku said. "Can't we determine this when we stop?"

"No, I need to know what kind of venom we're dealing with, and fast. The sooner I know what kind of venom was used, the faster I can get it out of his body." We turned a corner, and then another.

"It was a youkai," I said. "I couldn't believe it. It…I thought…I don't know... I froze up. If I hadn't been so dumb…" I was struggling to keep up with Sango and Miroku, beating back the pain in my ankle.

"Don't blame yourself, Kagome-chan," said Sango. "I still remember the first time I saw a youkai. I almost fainted."

"There's a lot that the Government keeps under wraps, isn't there, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked knowingly.

We had reached the hospital. We ran through the side door, which was open. A flight of stairs brought us to the basement. We slid open one of the doors, and deposited Inuyasha on the bed that was waiting there.

Inuyasha's right arm had stiffened. I helped Sango tear his shirt and tie back his long black hair. Miroku covered Inuyasha's mouth with a mask that would provide him with oxygen. Inuyasha's right shoulder was a terrible sight. The bites had turned white, and were surrounded by large red rings. The wound had swelled to the size of a gulf ball. Sango grabbed a washcloth, dipped it in the soapy water, and began to clear away the caked blood.

I stood by, watching Sango work. She washed Inuyasha's wound thoroughly, and then applied the hydrocortisone. "To reduce the inflammation." She explained everything to me as she worked. The antihistamines that would reduce the swelling in other parts of his body, like his throat, had to be administered through IV, and a large needle pumped morphine into his blood. Then Sango administered a general antidote.

"If this doesn't work, we'll try another kind of antidote," she said as the needle pierced Inuyasha's skin.

"And if that doesn't work?" I asked. I was making knots with my shirt.

Sango drew the needle out and placed it on the tray with the other syringes. She removed her mask and looked at me squarely. There was a sharp determination in her mahogany eyes that seemed to pierce through me. "We'll keep trying until we find the antidote that works," she promised. She reached out and took my hands away from my poor abused shirt. "We won't give up, Kagome, and neither will Inuyasha. Have a little faith in us, please?"

I nodded, but the emotion in my eyes forced me to look away. Sango patted my hand and headed for the door, where Miroku was waiting for her.

"Do you want me to look at your ankle?" Sango asked, looking back over her shoulder.

I grabbed a chair and pulled it over to Inuyasha's bed. "I'm fine. The medicine you gave me numbed the pain a little. Besides, Inuyasha's health is more important than mine right now."

Sango smiled and closed the door behind her. I sank into the chair and put my hand over his. "Because of me…!" I choked on the words. "Inuyasha, you idiot!"

I couldn't be angry with anyone but myself, and that wasn't making Inuyasha any better. I think I dozed a little, because when I looked again, Inuyasha's breathing had become more regular. He was sweating, which Sango told me was a good sign. I grabbed a corner of his blanket and dabbed his forehead.

He mumbled something and opened his eyes. I recoiled, surprised by those steel-blue eyes. "Sorry! I woke you."

"It's fine," he said before looking away. His voice was rough, but I was so relieved to hear it that I could have shouted for joy. "Kagome…"

I broke from my reveries. "What is it?"

"Why…were you crying?

I blinked. I was crying? I reached up and touched my cheek, where the memory of those tears still lingered in salty streams. I had been crying. When I saw him, defenseless and at the mercy of that terrible…thing! "Because… I thought you were going to die," I whispered.

"You were crying…for me?" He looked back at me, and his palm opened. "I had surgery once when I was little. My mother held my hand the whole time. Could you…"

I slipped my hand into his. "Yes," I said with a smile.

He closed his eyes. When I was sure he was asleep, I laid my head down on the bed beside him and closed my eyes as well.

"You…smell nice."

I jumped and looked at him. He was staring at me, with a strange, reflective veil over his eyes. "What?" I stuttered. "Didn't you say that you hated the way I smell?"

"I…lied," he said as he closed his eyes again.

I stared at him, bewildered and beguiled. Our hands were still clasped, his eyes were closed, and the room was silent except for the sound of our breathing. Maybe I'd been imagining things. But my cheeks were filled with fire and my heart was racing. What did he mean by that?

I should have realized; even then, I was beginning to love him.

(…)(…)(…)

This is a fragile world, and you don't belong here, paper heart.

- Ichimu

Please review!


	14. Allegro

Disclaimer:

Author's Note:

Translations:

_Chapter 14, Allegro_

I woke up to the click of a lighter. My neck and back were stiff from falling asleep in the chair with my head on Inuyasha's bed, but a shiver coursed down my spine and all my discomfort vanished as I met those familiar golden eyes. "Inuyasha!" I breathed.

"Mornin'," he said coolly, exhaling a puff of grey smoke.

I slapped him soundly across the face. His cigarette flew out of his mouth and careened across the room. It scattered cinders as it hit the ground and I put my heel into it before I turned back to him. "You idiot!" I shouted, shoving my finger into his chest.

Inuyasha did not even blink.

"Baka! Baka, baka, baka!" I cried, grabbing a fistful of sheets to keep myself from crying. "Inuyasha, you almost died! You should have stayed away. You shouldn't have come when you were like that. You—you almost died and it was all my fault!"

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. He reached into the jeans that were sitting on a stool near the bed and pulled out his cigarettes. He placed one in his mouth and lit the end. The tiny flame danced and illuminated his golden orbs. "Shut up," he said.

I blinked. "What?"

"I said shut up," he advised. "I don't want to hear your whining. Get over yourself."

The air was knocked out of me as though he had punched me in the stomach. I stood staring at him, motionless except for my pounding heart.

Inuyasha looked away from me, off into one of the darkened corners of the room. He closed his eyes, thus breaking the spell that intense gaze had cast over me. I stepped away from the bed. "You never asked where I'd been."

"What?"

"I was gone for three months, and you never asked me where I went." Another stream of smoke spilled over the delicate curve of his lips.

"I figured you'd tell me…if it was something that I had to know," I said slowly.

"What did your father do for a living, girl?" Inuyasha asked suddenly.

"I don't follow," I said.

"Just answer the question."

"I don't understand what that has to do with anything."

"It has everything to do with it!" Inuyasha spat, rounding on me. I jumped back in surprise. The claws of his left hand were imbedded in the mattress.

"He was an accountant," I said when I had found my voice once more. "He worked from home."

Inuyasha flinched. "What was his name?"

"Higurashi… Kimihiro," I managed.

Inuyasha got up out of bed and walked across the room. I bolted forward to grab his arm.

"Stop it," I pleaded. "You should be lying down. You almost died last night and I-"

Inuyasha slapped my hand away. When he turned to me, his handsome face was pulled taught and dark folds had formed between his eyebrows. "So you are his daughter." His voice was somewhere between a whimper and a growl. I shivered. He turned and began to walk away.

I stood frozen, watching his retreating frame. It felt like my soul was sinking, dropping down to pool around my ankles. My knees shook, and my head fell against my chest. And then my soul crested, sharply, in furious indignation. I leapt in front of Inuyasha, blocking the door.

"Get out of my way," he hissed.

"No," I shot back. "Not until you explain to me just exactly what you mean." I narrowed my eyes and took a step forward. "No more secrets."

Inuyasha looked at me, and the glimmer in his golden eyes suggested admiration and something else…something like pain. He closed his eyes, and went to sit on the bed. He hung his head, his arms resting on his knees. He looked so small sitting there.

"I'm going to tell you a story, Kagome," Inuyasha said in a tiny voice. "And when I'm done…" He looked at me with weary eyes.

"Inuyasha…"

He looked away. "Thirty-eight years ago, there was a boy who lived with his father and mother. They loved him very much, and because they had had him late in life, he was an extra joy and treasure to them. One day, this boy went out to run a favor for his father. But the little boy never came home. His mother and father called the police, there was a search party, but nothing more was done.

"Because the truth is that children had been disappearing lately. This was the first child to disappear in Tokyo, but children had been disappearing from the countryside for the past year. Everyone wondered where the children were being taken, but no one was brave enough to challenge the Government to go and look for them."

Inuyasha looked at me. "It's not a new story by any means. As long as the Government as been around, people have disappeared inexplicably. Those who get too close, those who show an especially obstinate nature, they are swooped up by the Government and never heard from again. Some are sent to their deaths, but most are sent to work in mines and factories. The special ones, those that show certain talents or special intelligence, however, are usually broken down mentally and turned into Government pawns."

I shivered and had to look away. In second grade, I had a beautiful young teacher named Fusae-san. Fusae-san took a special interest in me. One day she invited me over for dinner. The next day, she stayed home sick. The day after that, the headmaster came in to tell us that Fusae-san had moved, and would not be returning. And then there had been my neighbor, an elderly man named Nubito-san who had a kind smile. Nubito-san gave me one of his dog's puppies. He told me to look after my father. That night, Nubito-san committed suicide.

"These children were being adopted into a Government program that was designed to test their effectiveness in completing Naraku's plans. They were stripped of their pasts, and given numbers instead. If any of them spoke of home, they were beaten. If they tried to call each by their names, they were sent into solitary confinement.

"They were taught to carry guns, taught advanced mathematics, taught how to break codes, diffuse bombs, whatever. The Government was training an army that would obey its every whim.

"They boy I mentioned before, though, he was special. He was called Number 432, and he had average math scores. He was of average height and weight. He did not seem to be anymore intelligent than his peers. He disliked artichokes. But there was something very peculiar about him. It was obvious, even though he'd only been there for three months. The President was alerted, and Naraku himself came down to observe Number 432's training."

Inuyasha leaned forward and crushed his cigarette against the ashtray. The ashes crumbled and hissed, and put forth a weak ring of smoke. "What Naraku and the others found in Number 432 was the key to their dreams; they had found someone with latent spiritual powers and the ability to seek and find what they were after."

"What were they after?" I asked after a long pause in the narrative.

"A wishing-granting jewel from the ancient world: the Shikon no Tama," he said at last.

"Shikon no… Tama?" I repeated slowly, trying the words out on my tongue.

"Anyway, Naraku adopted Number 432 as his son and named him Kimaru. From that day onward, Kimaru was separated from the other children and given extensive and rigorous training. When he was twelve, he was sent into the field as a weapon, winning numerous shards of the Shikon no Tama for the Government. At eighteen, he was given a mate." Inuyasha's lips curled as he said the world. "She was a young agent named Ayashi. Nine months later, Ayashi had a daughter. She was named Kikyo."

I gasped so suddenly that I thought I would choke on the air. I had to grab onto the edge of Inuyasha's bed to steady myself.

Inuyasha closed his eyes. "That very night, Kimaru disappeared beyond the Government's detection. He disappeared for twelve years. The Government has no record of what happened to him during that time. But he was located, and it was Kikyo who tracked him down and delivered the fatal injury."

My stomach was twisting.

"He was rushed to the hospital, of course. His wife appeared, and his two children. Their blood was taken under the pretense that it would be used to revive their father. Their blood was tested for the crucial similarities, and the girl was found to be compatible. Her name was…" Inuyasha's voice trailed off.

My head hurt. I fumbled for something to support me. Inuyasha fixed his golden eyes on me. I couldn't read the expression there.

"Her name was Higurashi Kagome."

(-)

_"Hold on, Kagome. Hold on. Don't let go."_

I shut my eyes against the memory.

"You know, if it was up to me, I'd have killed you a long time ago. I don't care how valuable you are," Fukouka says. He tucks his gun under my chin, as though he expects me to flinch. I look at him coolly.

I really need something to eat.

"Go ahead," I say.

"Hmm," he muses, tapping the barrel of his gun against my cheek. "While I admit that's tempting, it'll have to wait until you tell us what you know."

"I want to see my family," I say wearily.

"Don't you trust us?" Fukouka says, cackling. "Don't you believe us when we tell you that they're alive? Why, just the other day, I could have sworn that your little brother's screams could be heard all the way to your cell."

My body jerks sharply against the verbal attack and I strain against my bonds.

"That's enough, Fukouka."

Fukouka goes pale behind his sunglasses and whirls around. "P-President Naraku!"

I look at my feet, pretending to be disinterested in the President's visit. The truth is that this is the first break of protocol in…days? Weeks? How long have I been shut up in this hellhole?

"Good evening, Kagome-san," the President of the Government oozes. Then his clammy, cold hands are examining the curve of my cheek. I can feel him smile. "It's true what they say, isn't it? You really do have your father's eyes."

I meet his eyes, those pale soulless puddles. He recoils sharply as my cheek resonates with violet energy. My bonds respond by shocking me. I black out momentarily, and when I blink the pain from my eyes, Naraku is grinning.

"How cheeky," he observes. "You dare to try and purify me?"

"That's not all I'll do when I get out of here," I threaten, struggling against the tight cords that secure me to the chair.

"Really, that temper of yours…" Naraku comments, clicking his tongue. "I remember a similar violent streak in your father. Your sister, however, was much more submissive." He lifts my chin, but he has learned from his previous lesson, and uses his cane.

I'm up to the challenge, though. I prepare to send my power along the length of the cane, but something goes wrong. Like a match that fails to ignite, my spiritual powers create nothing more than a brief spark. At once, I feel like my head is filled with bricks. I try to shake the feeling, but it persists. I slump against the chair.

"Do you like it, Kagome-san?" Naraku coos. "I had my technicians work on it just for you. It repels your purification powers. Sorry, it may leave you feeling a little light-headed, but it's a risk I'm willing to take."

He leans in so that his face is just inches from mine. I shiver as his foul breath breaks upon my face. "Now, we talk as equals, hmm?"

"What do you want?" I moan, drowsy and hungry and feeling broken all over.

_"Hang on, Kagome."_

"The same thing as you, I imagine," Naraku says, smirking.

"You have no idea what I want," I shoot back.

"No? Well, I thought that surely what you want more than anything is to be with your family, back in that life, away from all this," Naraku says. He reaches up to smooth my hair back from my face. He pets me like a child. Humiliation rumbles in my stomach, but I'm just too tired to summon the resistance. "You would like that, wouldn't you, Kagome-san?"

I look away from those piercing blue eyes.

_"Kagome!"_

"So I'm willing to offer a trade."

_"Kagome-chan!"_

_"Kagome-sama!"_

"What kind of trade?"

Naraku's lips curl back to reveal a hideous smile full of pointed, bestial teeth. A cold hand closes around my heart as though to stop its beating. "Your family, in exchange for Inuyasha."

_"I will definitely come for you."_

- Ichimu


	15. Common Time

Disclaimer:

Author's Note:

Chapter 15, Common Time

I wanted to faint. I wanted to black out so that when I woke up, this would all be a dream. But despite the harsh protest of my stomach, the ice shooting through my veins, and the whirring of my brain, reality was unfolding crisp and unblushingly before me. If it was all a dream, it's a dream from which I have yet to awaken.

I remembered the picture of Kikyo's face, that familiar smile, those eyes that mirrored my own… It had occurred to me that we might have been sisters. I never would have believed that we actually _were_.

And I remembered Inuyasha's vicious accusations, his fingers twined around my windpipe… That pain, desperation, the fear that was practically tangible…my _sister_ had caused all of that. The blood that flowed through her veins, the blood that came from our father, it had made them both into tools, nothing more than a means to an end. And that same blood flowed through my own veins.

_"Ah, so you don't know then? You don't have a clue what you are?"_

And what was I, then? A tool, a freak, a…monster?

When I met Inuyasha's eyes, there were tears flowing down my cheeks. "So, that's why," I managed, "that's why my family was attacked and taken away, why otosan was killed, why Kikyo betrayed you… It was all because of this blood?"

"The blood of a miko," Inuyasha said wearily, "is essential to the completion of the Shikon no Tama."

I was going to vomit. I shivered and sank down into the chair beside Inuyasha's bed. "So, why did they wait five years to come after me?"

"Your mother was smart. She skewed your information at the hospital: your name, age, birth date… it wasn't until the Government had a blood run at all the schools in your district that you were located. The Government didn't know your father's last name, so your mother probably thought that you were well-protected."

I tucked my hands under my thighs and stared at my kneecaps. They were bruised and scratched. There was a thin scar across my thigh. Another, longer scar spanned my shin. I was very different from that girl I had been. "So, this is what you spent three months doing? Tying up the loose ends of my past?"

"I was trying to figure out why the Government wanted you. I got my first lead three months ago."

I whimpered and hunched lower. My arms were shaking and I grabbed my shirt. "Knowing all of this, why did you come back?"

Inuyasha's hand closed over mine, causing me to start and look at him. His golden eyes, once so hard around the edges had softened. It occurred to me then, that Inuyasha was very different as well. "We had a deal, didn't we? I always keep my word."

He released my hand and looked away. "Before I left, I told you that you couldn't be a part of what's coming. At that time, I didn't realize the extent to which you were already a part of it." He closed his eyes and I held my breath. "Do you still have the shard you found in our battle with Juuroumaru?"

I removed the cord I had tied around my neck and held it up for Inuyasha. The shard was bound there, held to me by a shabby piece of string. I had been wearing it thoughtlessly. Someone on the street had commented that they rather fancied it. If I had known the way that Inuyasha's heart sank at the sight of it, I never would have…

"It's a shard of the Shikon no Tama," Inuyasha said. "It's the only goal that Naraku and I have in common."

"What do you need it for?" I asked, turning the crystal slowly. A memory prodded against my consciousness, waiting to be addressed.

"I need it so I can become a full youkai," he said. He sighed and closed my fingers around the sliver of the wish-granting stone. 

"Are you injured at all?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I assured him, tucking the shard against my chest.

Inuyasha watched the crystal with a strange, taught expression on his face. "Good," he said at last. "You resume your training tomorrow."

I left the room then. Out in the hallway, I finally allowed the memory to unfold.

"_Shikon no Tama?"_

"_As long as you have this, your house will be safe and your business will prosper," Jichan said, waving the dinky keychain that my family sold at the store in front of my eyes. _

"_This glass ball? You aren't really going to sell them are you, Jichan?" I protested, yawning and prodding Buyo in the stomach. The fat cat raised his head and pawed at the keychain, which shivered with the sound of a tiny bell._

"_Kagome, the history of the Shikon no Tama begins with…"_

"_What, are you telling my little girl fairytales again, otosan?"_

"_Otosan!" I whirled around, but my father was faster. Even before I faced him, I was tossed in the air and then smothered in a hug. My father was rewarded with the stream of giggles that poured forth from my lips._

"_There now, Kagome-chan," my father said, kissing my forehead. "Why don't you and I go get some cherry ice from the vendor?"_

_I screamed in excitement and clapped my hands together. "Please!"_

My father's laughing face faded and I stood alone in the hallway. "A monster?" I asked the stillness around me. "Honto ni? A monster?"

(-)(-)(-)

I sank into the chair, rubbing my thighs, which burned from the vigorous exercise. Inuyasha wasn't home—he was out tutoring—so I was alone for now. I looked from the TV remote to my half-finished novel and back again. Then I walked into the kitchen and began to boil some water. I checked the windows instinctively; the superiors of the Resistance had assured us that the apartment was as safe as ever, but it was no use…

My anxiety was like a tiny insect crawling just under the surface of my skin.

Summer was coming early this year, and the winds that wafted through the apartment were lazy with heat and fragrance. A bakery had opened on the corner, and all day, sweet perfumes penetrated my consciousness.

My hand recoiled sharply as it came in contact with the now boiling water.

"Give it here."

I jumped as Inuyasha's voice cut across the room. I turned. He caught me mid-turn, grabbed my hand, and forced it under cold water.

I watched him while he watched my hand. There was a softness in his face that was new to me.

"What?" he snapped.

"Huh?" I blinked, ripped from my reveries.

"What're you smiling for?" he asked.

"Was I smiling?"

Inuyasha flinched or shied away. My hand bumped against the side of the sink. Inuyasha frowned and fumbled to bring my hand back under the cool water. The water hissed and spat at us. We jumped back. Our eyes met.

"Thank you," I said in a tiny voice.

He dropped my hand and stepped back.

"Inuyasha?"

A small whimper knocked against his ribcage and resonated in my ears. A wild look flickered across his features and his eyes became overly sharp. I reached out and grabbed his arm. He started as though coming out of a dream and looked at me like he had never seen me before.

"Are you alright?" I asked. 

"I…" he started. 

I helped him sit down. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "Nothing at all."

But he wouldn't look at me.

Some time soon after that I had a strange dream. I was standing in midst of an enormous lake. The water rose to my hips, and rippled off into the grayish sky in all directions. I lapped gently through the water. And then there was a strange tingling, a sort of itch at the back of my neck. I reached up and touched the place.

_"I wish…"_

"Who's there?" I called.

_"…Shikon no Tama, hear my wish…"_

Something was happening to the water. Terror was creeping into my limbs. I looked down, and realized that the water around with me was turning red. 

"Blood!" I gasped.

And then there was pain, white-hot and overwhelming. I staggered and water splashed into my sweat-soaked face. I sputtered, coughed, and raised myself. My shaking right hand reached up, fighting through fabric for my left shoulder. I drew it away to see my hand stained with the dark vital fluid. 

"My blood?"

_"Shikon no Tama, hear my wish, the wish of the miko who guards you."_

The water before me solidified. I was staring at my face, pale and taught with pain. But no…that was not my face. 

"Kikyo!"

_"…Kagome…"_

I woke in a cold sweat. My shoulder was intact, but the pain would not stop. I hid my face in my hands and wept.

(-)(-)(-)

If they knew what the smoke in my face did—if they knew how it brought me back to him, they wouldn't dare light up in front of me. 

"Do you think she's in shock?"

"She hasn't said a word. Not one sound since the President was here."

"We should send her back up to Sesshoumaru. He'll make her talk."

"No. She can't handle it right now. She's lost too much blood recently. She could still be in shock from last night. Better to drug her and put on the track while she recovers."

_Not that track again. Please._

"The track it is. Get the straps."

They pluck me from the floor. I slump against them, vaguely registering the change of light as we walk into the next room. I'm tossed into the chair. The straps are secured around my ankles and wrists. The bruise on my arm flares dimly as the needle passes through it. I watch the pearly liquid drain out of the syringe as they buckle my head into the device.

They walk away. The lights go off. Another light appears in front of me, and as the drugs take effect, the reeling images, sounds, and smells reach out and wrap around me.

_Inuyasha…_

_Inuyasha…_

_Inu…_

_…yasha…_

Something brushes past my face, waking me from my coma. The slightest whiff…a tiny puff of cigarette smoke curls under my nose, and I am drawn away from the screen of flashing, jumbled images into a night filled with streamers of moonlight. A hand passes over the small of my back, and my lips part.

_"Don't let go…"_

"Wake up, girl! The President is here to see you."

(-)(-)(-)

My hands were searing. Smoke came from my fingertips in little columns, arching towards the ceiling. My ribcage heaved under my heavy, wet shirt. My hair had come free of its bindings and stuck to my cheeks and to the back of my neck. 

"We can take a break if you like," Miroku offered, running the back of his hand across his forehead. 

"No," I said. I concentrated on my fingertips. "I have to get this right!"

"You don't have to do it all in one day," Miroku said, laughing. "You're making wonderful progress."

"No," I repeated. "Shoot again."

"Kagome-chan," Sango said tentatively from the sidelines. "Please be smart about this. If you fail to block one of Miroku's shots, you could get really injured."

"That's why you're here, Sango-chan," I said, my eyes still locked on Miroku's amethyst orbs. 

"Oh great. And here I was, thinking that you liked my company," Sango muttered under her breath.

The laughter that bubbled up from my chest was just the burst I needed. My fingertips flared with violet light. Miroku reacted at once, and his hand was a blurred arch as he released a dozen seals, all headed in my direction.

I dropped to one knee and the power at my fingertips destroyed the nearest of the targets. I caught one in my hand, where it shriveled up and turned into a fine powder. One wrapped around my ankle. It promptly burst into a violet flame. Satisfied, I stood up, beaming.

"Kagome-sama!" Miroku barked as he sent another round at my back.

I whirled around and the curve of my arm made snuff of three seals. A quickly formed barrier knocked away two more. I rolled onto my back and stopped two members of a third attack. 

"That's great!" Miroku shouted in encouragement as my right hand produced a globe of spiritual purity that made his seal fizzle and fall to the earth as blank as a sheet. 

I laughed and I was almost feeling good about myself when a sudden explosion brought us both around. "Sango-chan!" I gasped.

Miroku blanched and his amethyst eyes grew wide as the rubble settled before us. I had missed one of the seals, and it had latched itself onto the wall directly above Sango's head. She hadn't time to get away before the seal ignited and tore the wall open, bringing the rubble down upon her. The warm, happy rush of adrenaline was sucked out of the moment. My stomach fell and I turned to ice.

Miroku darted forward, grabbed the nearest chunk of wall and pulled it away. The muscles of his arms strained against the weight. He set his jaw and tugged. The piece of wall came free. He grabbed another, tossed a third aside, and was rewarded with the sight of Sango's wrist. A moment later, he had pulled her out from under the wreckage.

His mouth formed meaningless words as he ran his fingers over her forehead. A huge bruise was beginning to solidify at the crown of her head. "Sango," he murmured. "Wake up, wake up!"

I was still frozen. My throat was dry. I wasn't sure whether to scream for help or go to where Sango lay limp in Miroku's arms.

Just as I was about to head out of the room, Sango's lithe form trembled and she looked up at Miroku.

"Mm…?" she managed. "Miroku?"

Miroku touched her face in response. 

Sango grabbed his arm and pressed her face against him. Her other hand encircled her stomach. She made a small whimpering sound, and then her shoulders were trembling. Miroku buried his face in her hair. One arm cradled her shoulders, and the other searched vaguely for and finally wrapped around the hand that Sango had pressed against her stomach.

Sango slapped his hand away. She detangled herself from his arms and got shakily to her feet. Her cheeks were wet and her eyes bright. 

"How can you buy into this?" she cried.

"Sango…" Miroku pleaded, still on the ground, his palms spread before him.

"What makes you think it's going to be any different this time around?" Sango spat. "What's keeping it from happening just like last time?"

"It won't happen like last time," Miroku said, his face set.

"How do you know?" she shrieked. She staggered slightly in the violence of her passion and Miroku sprang to his feet. He caught her hands and looked her squarely in the eyes.

"I won't let it happen like last time," he said in a low, stern voice.

Sango rounded on me, a wild look in her eyes. "She was just like you!" she barked. She was trembling again, and when she spoke once more, her voice was barely audible. "She was your sister…and she was just like you…"

Miroku grabbed her arms so fiercely that Sango jumped and turned to him. His eyes were hard as they bore into hers. "She's not Kikyo. _It won't happen like last time_." She was trembling still, but a different emotion had seeped into her features. Fear, certainly, but also a softer emotion. Miroku's features softened in response. He pushed her hair back from her face and in a tiny voice, whispered, "I promise." He kissed her forehead.

"Now," he said, gingerly touching the bruise on her forehead, "let's get someone to look at this, alright?" He led her out the door.

I stood stock still, alone in the dim room where the air was tight with dust and debris. My hands dangled at my sides, my feet grew roots and drove through the floor. I stood staring at the place where Sango had been, where those bright, fervent eyes had flashed to my face and accused me of being just like Kikyo. No…more than that… There was another accusation burning in those eyes, which was left unspoken, bound by nothing more than the confines of propriety.

What she had left unsaid was the thing that terrified me more than any other pronouncement.

I was just like Kikyo… I was…a _monster_.

(-)(-)(-)

"There you are," Inuyasha shot as he came upon me. "I've been looking all over for you. I followed your scent all around the city before I found you here."

I turned away from him.

A long minute ticked by in the alleyway. 

"You shouldn't be here. This place isn't safe. The Government knows about it, and they're sure to have someone watching it, hoping you'll come back."

"It's just a doorway. A doorway with a broken lock to an empty apartment," I droned.

"Kagome…"

I looked at the doorway with the rusted lock, which I had shattered with a bullet. I could just make out the room beyond, with its overturned furniture and a fine layer of dust settling over everything. Souta's screams chased me from the shadows, and Fukouka's voice taunted me for the umpteenth time, _"Ah, so you don't know then? You don't have a clue what you are?"_

"I couldn't go home. Not after…" My voice failed me and I buried my face in my knees so that Inuyasha couldn't see how upset I was.

Another long minute passed between us.

"Miroku told me what Sango said to you."

"He did, huh?" I tried to sound disinterested, as if that wasn't the reason I'd sprinted out of the hospital, run into an elderly woman on the street, packed up all my things in a duffle bag, and run out here.

Inuyasha sat down next to me. Unwittingly, my eyes passed over his face, and when they met his gaze, they were captured. "So what now?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you giving up?" he asked.

"How can I keep going? I almost got Sango killed this afternoon. She hates me…or at least she distrusts me. And Miroku-sama, despite all his big words… well, he probably distrusts me, too."

"Ah," Inuyasha said, standing up. "Well then, I'll see you later."

"What?" I asked, starting.

"Hmm? Changed your mind?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.

I stared at him, perplexed. "You're leaving? Just like that?"

"No, you're leaving," he corrected me.

"But that's because-!"

"Because you think Sango hates you?" His golden eyes flashed. "I thought you were stronger than that. I guess you were full of shit the whole time, huh?"

"Excuse me?" I asked, flushing and jumping to my feet.

"All that stuff about saving your family was just bullshit, huh? Fine then. I don't need you. I'll take the Shikon no Tama back, and you can get the hell out of my sight." He held out his hand.

I slapped him across the face.

Nothing happened. I gathered my breath. Inuyasha blinked and looked at me. I could have sworn that under that smirk, there was the slightest glimmer of a genuine smile. 

"Fine then. Let's go home," he said after some time had passed. I blushed as I realized I had fallen right into his little mind game. Still…I was only half-annoyed. I looked back at the empty doorway and sighed. Whatever doubts I had, they weren't worth it. I had to get my family back. No matter what, I had to see them again. I smiled at Inuyasha. He turned to go, and I went to grab my duffle bag, but something was still bothering me. I stopped.

"Inuyasha…What happened to Sango and Miroku that night?" I asked.

Inuyasha frowned, knowing what I meant at once. He looked at the ground. "I told you that Sango and Miroku went on with the plan. They had no choice. It was maybe the only chance we would ever get. They went ahead without the proper backup and…" He paused. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. "They were ready for them. During the fighting, there was an explosion. Sango was caught in the rubble. By the time Miroku got her free, it was too late… She…" 

He looked at me, and I could see that there was pain and guilt in those bright eyes. "Sango had to have extreme surgery. The damage to her vitals was irreparable in some places. She will never have children."


	16. Parallel Fifths

Disclaimer:

Disclaimer: All trademarks belong to their rightful owners. Please do not sue.

Author's Note: Alright! I've finished finals! School is out. Yes!

In this issue: New Developments on the home front; Kagome must make her choice: her family or Inuyasha?! Haha. That's what the tagline would be if this were a manga issue.

So yeah, that's what's goin' down in this chapter. Hope you enjoy and please, please review! I _need _positive feedback.

_Chapter 16, Parallel Fifths_

My dreams got weird after that. Kikyo chased me through my dreams, always a shadow across my face. Sometimes I was Kikyo. The dreams started pervading my waking, even. The worst was one time when I was preparing dinner with Inuyasha in the room, and I suddenly blacked out. When I came to, Inuyasha and I were sitting down to eat. He didn't seem fazed in the least, so I let my loss of consciousness pass without comment.

I spoke to no one of these moments. Sango and I hadn't talked since the incident. Miroku held our lessons as though nothing had happened, but there were awkward silences whenever we shared a laugh, as though we both felt guilty enjoying each other's company.

We were working on tightening my control over my spiritual powers. Inuyasha sat in on the lessons as often as he could. I overheard the two of them talking one evening after an especially difficult lesson.

"The Resistance is getting antsy, Inuyasha," Miroku was saying.

"She's not ready yet," Inuyasha said.

"But she can sense the shards. That's all that matters to them," Miroku said. "They want her on the field."

"She's not ready for the field," Inuyasha argued.

"She's gotten better."

"Not good enough. Not nearly good enough. Her technique is sloppy. Her core is off. If she gets involved in our missions, she'll be a goner the minute she steps into the game."

There was a long silence. I had forgotten about the laces I was tying, and pressed my ear against the door, afraid I would miss something. When at last the silence was broken, it was Miroku who spoke, his voice low and with an edge.

"I know what you're thinking, Inuyasha. But Kagome-sama's our best chance right now. We can't find the shards without her." He paused for a pregnant minute. "No matter how long I train her in this basement, she won't be perfect. She's missing proper tutors, time, space… Inuyasha, she won't ever be Kikyo."

Furtive sounds of struggle came from the other side of the door. I jumped back as a great weight was thrown against the door. The door had bent with the force, and through the cracks I could just make out Inuyasha's taught face as he looked up at Miroku. He held Miroku against the door with two great fistfuls of Miroku's shirt.

"Watch your tongue, Miroku, because I have no qualms about cutting it out," he hissed. Shivers rocked my body and I sank back farther into the shadows, lest I be spotted.

In an incredible calm voice, Miroku said, "Just think about what I said Inuyasha. The sooner you realize their differences, the easier it will be for you to accept their similarities."

"Shut up!" Inuyasha cried, releasing Miroku and stepping away. "You don't know anything about it!"

Miroku stood tall, and his face was calm, but I could see his hand shaking. "Maybe not, but I know enough to make me sick. Kagome-sama is working so hard to get her family back, and all you can do is scoff at her achievements because they're not as impressive as Kikyo's. Let her work. Give Kagome-sama the chance she needs to get her family back."

"Is that all?" Inuyasha asked slowly, with unmistakable poison in his voice.

"No, not nearly," Miroku sad. His tone was strident now, biting. He took a step towards Inuyasha. "I've seen the way you look at her. Stop it. She's not Kikyo! Leave your emotional baggage out of it."

"You have no idea what happened between Kikyo and I," Inuyasha said, his voice barely above a whisper. I could just make out his face over the shadow of Miroku's shoulder. His eyes were taught, haunted pinpricks that darted about.

"No matter what it was, that doesn't change the fact that what you're doing is wrong. Stop taking your issues with Kikyo out on Kagome-sama!"

I thought Inuyasha was going to murder him. I shut my eyes and waited for the impact that never came. When I dared to open them again, Inuyasha was gone. Miroku was standing in the hallway by himself.

"You can come out now, Kagome-sama," he said.

Caught, terrified, I wondered for a moment what I should do. Finally, I peeled back the remains of the door and crawled into the hall.

"How much did you hear?" he asked, his eyes fixed at something straight ahead of him.

I couldn't find my voice, but I doubted very much that Miroku needed an answer. He looked at me, a crooked, tight smile twisting his handsome face. "Everything, huh?" Again, I said nothing. Miroku's face fell. "I'm sorry." He turned and left me alone in the hallway, one shoe still untied.

(-)(-)(-)

When I got home that night, Inuyasha wasn't there. I made dinner, stuck Inuyasha's half in the fridge with a label, and crashed on the sofa with a soda and a bag of popcorn. I watched one movie, and when that was finished, another. I fell asleep around four-thirty while waiting for the Discovery Channel to play a documentary on cheetahs.

In my dream I was standing on the top of a roof. My hair was tied back in a long braid. I was wearing a cat suit, my guns secured at my hips. A strong wind carried his scent to me—cigarette smoke, night, earth, forests…

"Inuyasha."

"So you came after all."

I didn't turn around. I didn't want to see the hatred, the betrayal, the pain that I knew would be there. "So…you found out, huh?"

"All this time you've been playing them for a sap. They all bought your story. Hook, line, and sinker."

"Yes, they did. But you're not here because of them, are you, Inuyasha?"

"Even me—_me_, Kikyo." He paused and I wondered if maybe he was going to strike me. "Everything you ever told me was a lie!" he screamed.

"I told you what you wanted to hear," I said. The hollow words echoed inside my chest.

"So…you used me…to get to the Jewel."

"Yes."

"To hand it over to the one man I hate more than anything. To give it to that bastard Naraku."

"Yes."

"So…everything…it all meant nothing to you."

My mouth formed the word, but no sound would come to my lips. My hesitation detected, Inuyasha reached out and grabbed my shoulder.

"Tell me it meant nothing."

"It…it meant nothing."

"Turn around and tell me it meant nothing."

"It meant nothing to me!"

"TURN THE FUCK AROUND AND TELL ME THAT I MEAN NOTHING TO YOU!"

Shaking, I slowly turned around. Was he…crying?

"Inuyasha…"

"Mornin', girl."

I opened my eyes. I was on the couch. Inuyasha was in front of me. Whole. Uninjured. Why had I expected him to be otherwise?

"Whoa, whoa. Take it easy," he said, jumping forward to catch me. He lowered me back onto the couch. "Stay there. I'll get you some water."

There was a flash of blue eyes, black hair. Promises were being whispered along my collarbone. A wet mouth encircled mine.

"Inuyasha…"

"Here I am, girl." He presses the glass to my lips. I take a deep gulp.

_"Can you stand?"_

"I…I don't know…"

_"What's happened to you?"_

"I can't remember."

"What are you saying, girl? Hey! Can you hear me?"

_"That's a nasty bump. Come on, we'll get you to a hospital, ok?"_

"A bump?"

_"Yeah, a bump. Right here." _A touch sends warm shivers down my spine. _"Can't you remember who gave that to you?"_

"No…I can't…I can't remember a thing…"

"Hey! Hey, snap out of it, girl!"

"_How about your name? You can remember that, can't you?"_

"Kikyo."

"KAGOME!"

I snapped awake. "Inuyasha?"

He was kneeling in front of me, a wild, fervent look in his eyes. "How did you know that?"

"What?"

"How did you know what she said?"

"What who said?"

"How did you know that!?"

I realized slowly what had happened. By some cosmic power, I was experiencing Kikyo's memories. What I just experienced was Inuyasha's and Kikyo's first encounter in an alley not far from Resistance Headquarters. Inuyasha had been returning from a mission. He had found Kikyo dinged up and unconscious in an alley, claiming to have amnesia. He had taken her back with him. I knew these things as surely as if they had happened to me.

"Inuyasha…" I breathed.

He flinched. I grabbed his hand.

_"Shikon no Tama, hear my wish, the wish of the miko who guards you. I wish…"_

"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I didn't…I…I'm so sorry."

Inuyasha stood up and left.

(-)(-)(-)

"Why hello there, Mr. President. So nice to have you stop in for a chat. Would care for some tea? Coffee? If you'll wait just a moment, I'm sure my guards would be more than happy to serve up some of that cold, hard gruel that I've just been having. I never knew that gruel came in such a variety of…aromas."

Naraku bears a simpering grin. Laying his special, enchanted cane across his lap, he takes a seat across from me.

"Oh, won't you take a seat? I'd join you, but I seem to be a little tied up at the moment." I smile at the guards on either side of me. Each is holding a long pole, which is attached to the collar around my neck. My hands are secured behind me in cords that repel my spiritual powers.

"Release her. I am here to speak as her friend, not her captor," Naraku orders.

The guards remove the poles from the collar and unbind my hands. I take a seat and face Naraku.

"I brought you something," Naraku says, passing me a newspaper. I take note of the date. I've been imprisoned her for three weeks. Three weeks with little sleep and less food, three weeks of solitary confinement, interrogation sessions, and regular physical abuse.

"Wow. Thirty-eight degrees Celsius, really? Fuckin' oven out there, huh?"

Naraku's smirk grows. "I thought the headline would be of especial interest to you."

"Higurashi Kagome named national hero," I read. "I hope there's a good picture of me. I really want both of my black eyes in the shot. Adds a nice effect, don't you think?" I throw the paper at his face, unable to contain my disgust any longer.

"It's the late edition," Naraku says, plucking the paper from his front and folding it up neatly before him. "The story of your heroism will reach newsstands everywhere tonight. Tomorrow, you will be back home, basking in the glory of having turned in the most wanted man in Tokyo."

"I've told you a hundred times, Naraku. You'll have to kill me first," I snap.

To my amazement, Naraku laughs. "That's what I thought you'd say. That's why I brought a guest to tea."

The door opens, and someone is shoved forcefully in the room. It's a smallish boy with a shot of black hair and tattered clothes. He looks malnourished and weak. My stomach falls to my feet as his dark eyes meet mine.

"Oh God…Souta!"

"Neesan!"

We're hugging each other, crying, smothering each other in kisses. I push the hair back from his eyes and hug him again. He feels so small in my arms.

"Thy told us that you were dead!" Souta says. "Mama kept saying you were alive, but-!" He sniffles, and I know exactly how he feels. I kiss his cheeks.

"It's ok, Souta. I'm here. I'm alive."

"Neesan!" He started to cry again, and I'm reminded of just how young my little brother was. How long has it been since we were together? A year? A year living in this hell? How could I ever dream of subjecting my baby brother to that?

I kiss his tears away. When he quiets, I ask, "How are they treating you? Is Jichan ok? Mama? Are they alive? Are you being fend? They're not abusing you are they?"

Souta shakes his head. "There's never enough to eat, but we take turns missing meals. Mama and Jichan are so thin. Jichan has a cough that won't go away. They don't hit us though."

"Well, I hate to break up this touching reunion, but I have so many places to be. Say goodbye to your brother, Kagome."

"Neesan!"

"Souta!" I fight against my guards. One of them stuns me, and I watch helplessly as Souta is dragged from the room, kicking and screaming. My cheeks are moist.

Naraku waits patiently, his hands folded in front of him.

"I…" My voice falters. I catch my breath between sobs and try again. "I will tell you whatever you want. Just…just let him go."

Naraku says nothing for a long time. Finally, his lips curl back in a feral grin that I can feel. "You and Kikyo have so many useful similarities. Both of you were willing to sacrifice the man you loved for the sake of a sibling. Humans are such pathetic creatures." Still laughing, he rises and begins to exit.

"Bring her upstairs to the guest room. Make sure that she is as comfortable as possible."

The guards seize my arms and drag me a flight of stairs. I am shoved into the room, my limp frame tumbling into the downy covers of a queen-sized bed. The door closes behind me. I run for it. It's locked. I head for the desk and rip open the first drawer.

A pair of safety scissors stairs back at me.

I scream and sink into the comforter.


	17. Leading Tone

Disclaimer:

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from Inuyasha.

Author's Note: Nearing the end now, folks. Sorry for the belated updates and such; I had a rather distressful summer.

Please review- reviews make me type faster. I swear.

_Chapter 17, Leading Tone_

It was a cold morning for summer. I hadn't thought to bring a sweater. I dug my hands into my jeans' pockets and waited.

"You're here early," he observed.

"And the fact that you're here at all means you still don't trust me," I pointed out. When had I gotten so fresh?

"Another set of eyes never hurt."

"Miroku's watching me. I'm fine."

"You don't know him," he tried.

"What's to know? He's a government official. Vice President of one of the Seven Sectors."

"Second sector, Kagome."

"Does it make all that much of a difference?" I blew hot breath into my cupped palms.

He grabbed my hands, forcing me to meet his eyes. "Yes. It does."

"Ok, ok," I say, flustered by the unexpected contact. "The second sector is rare weapons."

"Swords, Kagome. Rare weapons is the first sector."

"Ok. Got it."

He looked as though he wanted to say something more, but thought better of it and turned around. He was wearing a light jacket, and tugged the zipper up to his chin. He pulled his baseball cap lower over his eyes before murmuring, "Be careful." He disappeared around the corner.

I caught myself smiling and bit my lip to hide it.

Half an hour ticked by. Finally, he rounded the corner. He was tall. His coat was stylish, but too warm for the weather. Long white hair trailed behind him like a mane. He had strange markings on his face: a violet crescent on his forehead and long slits along either cheek. His eyes, the same magnificent gold, glimmered in the half-light.

He walked confidently, his eyes set ahead of him. He stopped in front of me, his eyes still trained ahead.

"You smell of him," he said.

"Sesshoumaru, I presume," I said.

"Is this area safe?" His golden eyes flashed.

"We swept it, if that's what you mean."

"What else could I mean?" he snapped.

I held out my hand. He passed a small envelope to me.

"You realize that the only reason I'm helping you is because I hate that bastard, right?" He looked at me, and I could feel his eyes burning twin holes through my head.

I stared back at him. "Understood."

"Before I go, I want a demonstration," he said. "Show me that you have the same power as your father, as your sister."

Miroku had warned me that Inuyasha's uptight older brother might ask for this. I pulled out my gun and aimed at the window across the street. I frowned as I poured my concentration into the fabric of the bullet. I fired.

The bullet flared violet as it cut the chill morning air. The window shattered, the glass crumbling upon the sidewalk. Sesshoumaru lifted an eyebrow and crossed the street. He peered through the window, where the opposite wall would be covered with seals that Miroku had planted and I had dispelled with a single bullet. When he was presumably satisfied with this display of my powers, he returned.

"Impressive," he said. "But real battle is different from dispelling a bunch of seals." He continued walking. Before he was out of earshot, he added, "Naraku will be looking for those. Watch your back."

He rounded the corner and I exhaled a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Inuyasha had been right; the heads of the Seven Sectors were different from their minions.

That kind of power…was still completely out of my reach.

(-)(-)(-)

"Creep, isn't he?" Miroku asked when we reached the rendezvous point.

"That's one word for it," I said.

"Yeah. Bastard is another," Inuyasha said as I dumped the contents of the envelope on the table.

Eight shards shimmered in the weak, pale sunshine. I reached into my shirt and produced the string that bore our shard. They were the same, and my stomach turned slightly as I scooped up the eight new shards and held them to the stringed one. There was a bright flash of light, and the nine pieces fused together to form an almost complete orb.

"If Naraku finds out Sesshoumaru took those…" Miroku said, looking at Inuyasha.

"One less bastard for me to kill," Inuyasha shrugged.

"Hopefully," I interjected, "Naraku will find out that we have the shards first."

"That is the plan," Miroku said.

"And when he comes to collect, we kill him?" Inuyasha asked hopefully.

"Since when has Naraku ever done anything himself?" Sango asked, coming upon us so suddenly that I jumped. She glanced at the Shikon no Tama in my hand and looked away. "No, he'll send one of his minions."

"Who we capture and force to give us the location of the President," Miroku said.

"How do you know he won't just send us more ninjas?" I asked.

"He'll want those back," Miroku said. "He'll send someone important."

"The Shichi'nintai," Sango said softly.

I bit my lip and looked at Inuyasha. The name that caused my stomach turn had lit a fire in his eyes. The Shichi'nintai, the seven ruthless murderers who formed the heads of the Seven Sectors…the knowledge that a man…_youkai _like Sesshoumaru served under one of these terrible men was enough to make me shiver.

"Bankotsu owes me a rematch," Inuyasha said with a vicious smirk.

Somehow, this remark only made me feel worse.

(-)(-)(-)

I sat on the end of my bed, my knees tucked under my chin as I hugged them to my chest. It was a matter of waiting now, Miroku had told us. The idea set my teeth on edge; I didn't like that the cards were in their hands.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't hear the faint knock on the door. It opened a crack, and I looked up as a familiar pair of golden eyes peeked in. "Hey."

"Hi," I said, sitting up and blushing.

Inuyasha came in. He looked at the bed, and I made room for him. He hesitated a moment and then sat. He was so close, I could have let my head fall onto his shoulder. The silence came down and weighed heavily upon our chests, stifling the words that grew up there.

Finally, Inuyasha cleared his throat of the eerie silence. "You don't have to be afraid," he said.

"I'm not afraid!" I responded, too loudly.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. Then something went wrong. Time slipped out of its frame, and the image before my eyes melted down. Underneath was a raw frame. A warm sunset-crickets beginning to chirp-a great heave of my chest that came out as the smallest of sighs.

"Inuyasha…"

_"Sh…"_ His firm lips stifled my protest.

I snapped from my reverie. Another one of Kikyo's memories…or my own desires? I shivered even though it wasn't cold.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing…just a headache," I said, touching my temple, where a high-pitched tone cut through my thoughts.

"The Shinchi'nintai aren't something to worry about," Inuyasha continued, impervious as ever to my presence beside him. Always beside him… I bit my lip. He smiled at me. "They're nothing that I can't handle."

The air that I was breathing was choking me, and the walls of my esophagus were closing in. I clenched my hands together and tried to collect my entire person on the process of breathing in and out again.

Inuyasha grabbed my hand. The contact was like an ice cube down my back. "This time won't be like the last…" I sat straight up. "What I'm trying to say is…Kagome, I'll protect you."

Something clicked in my chest.

"TURN THE FUCK AROUND AND TELL ME THAT I MEAN NOTHING TO YOU!"

Shaking, I slowly turned around. Was he…crying?

No…those were my own tears. "Inuyasha…"

"Kikyo…" He kissed me once, twice. His warm lips brushed my jaw, and then he pushed me against the wall. His hands settled on my hips, pulling me into him. I shivered and wrapped my arms around his neck. I stopped his next words with a kiss.

'Please, _please,_' I pleaded mentally. 'Don't let this moment end.'

But my duty was too much to ignore. They would kill him. I could save him. I was the only one in the world that could save him. But I would have to break his heart to do it. The coming night was warm now, the dying sun pressing against my back, and somewhere crickets were chirping. The sigh that shattered my soul left my lips as nothing more than a light whisper.

"Inuyasha…" I breathed.

"_Sh_…" he said, kissing me. "We can get away, Kikyo. After tonight, Naraku will be dead. Then, you'll be free, and we'll be together." I trembled deep within myself, and I felt my shiver echo in his chest as I ran my hand down his back.

My hand was on my gun. He hadn't noticed yet. I kissed him, closing my eyes tight against the tears. I was going to lose him forever. "Inuyasha, they already know."

"What?"

"They know about the plan. I told them everything," I said.

Inuyasha jumped away from me. Cold air rushed into the space between us and I hugged myself. His warm eyes had turned to pinpricks. "What are you saying?"

It was taking all my training to keep from breaking down into sobs. "They know the plan. They've taken all precautions. The Shinchi'nintai are ready for us."

"What?" Inuyasha growled, baring his sharpened canines. "But Sango, Miroku-!"

I closed my eyes. "They're probably dead by now."

The space between us was closed in an instant. I gasped in spite of myself, but his hand stopped- suspended in the air a centimeter from my cheek. I couldn't meet his eyes…I was terrified of the betrayal I would see there. "You're lying," he said, half accusing, half pleading.

"I'm not," I managed. I closed my hand around the handle of my gun. "And I'm sorry, Inuyasha. So sorry." I whipped out my gun.

He was faster. He knocked the gun out of my hand even as I fired, and the bullet merely grazed his shoulder. I could feel his eyes burning into me. He grabbed my throat and pushed me against the wall.

I tapped into my core, into the immense, wild power there. I lifted my hands and pushed him away from me with a great blast of violet light. As he flew away from me, I grabbed my other gun and shot him once in the abdomen.

I blasted him again, and he tumbled backwards over the roof. I scrambled onto the fire escape, and slid down it, leaving violet streamers glowing in the fabric of the steel rods. In the alley, he was gone. I shot out tendrils of energy, searching for him, but I didn't feel him behind me until a moment too late. He grabbed me and threw me back into a dumpster.

I struggled to my feet. He was shouting things at me. I shot out wildly with the energy pouring forth from my agonized core. My ears hummed in warning- I was stretching myself too far. My soul creaked under the weight of emotion. I closed my eyes. 'One last time,' I told myself. 'A grand finale for the puppet of the Government; one last act of defiance.'

Inuyasha was dodging my shots, despite the wound in his abdomen. He was coming closer, weaving his way through my attempts to entangle him in my spiritual energy. I looked towards the sky. Just a few more moments, and the last ray of sunlight would be gone.

The distraction was all Inuyasha needed. He grabbed me around the neck and lifted me from my feet. I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't have to meet his. "What are you doing?!" he demanded.

I tore at his hands. "Inuyasha, did you forget…did you forget what…night it is?"

"_Nani_?" he asked.

The last ray of sunlight illuminated the alley, and then it was gone. Inuyasha's pure white hair stirred in a cold breeze, and then it was black. If I had the courage to meet his eyes, I knew that they would be flooding with steely blue. How ironic, I thought, that he should now take the form that he had promised to take when we were free to live the rest of our lives together. 'And now that will never happen.'

I lifted my gun, filled the bullet with all the energy left in my core, and shot him in the shoulder. Warm droplets of blood spattered across my face. He stumbled backwards, grabbing the wound. He hit the wall of the alley and crumbled against it.

I pitched forward and emptied my insides in the scattered rubbish. My head was spinning, and I felt as empty as a dry husk. Darkness swelled behind my eyes. I'd over-extended myself. But this was all part of the plan, of course. My task had been completed. Inuyasha and I would never be together, but I had made it so that he could have a second chance at happiness. Despite the temptation to fall into darkness, I met his steely eyes.

My soul shattered. Anyone else would have taken that look for loathing, but I knew it for what it was: that was the knowingly futile glare of a broken heart, filled with betrayal and unutterable pain.

"Inuyasha…" I breathed.

I fumbled through my shirt to find the Shikon no Tama. It was warm against my fingertips, sensing the looming wish. I closed my eyes.

Somewhere nearby, the sister I would never know was enjoying another uncomplicated evening in her uncomplicated life. She had no idea that her world was about to come crashing in around her. I had kept her safe for as long as I possibly could; I had done everything in my power to keep that fraction of our father's legacy from the Government's greedy, far-reaching grasp. Now there was only one more thing I could do to save her.

"Shikon no Tama," I whispered, pressing my lips to the jewel, "hear my wish, the wish of the miko who guards you." The violet jewel trembled in anticipation. "I wish for the ability to protect Kagome."

A gunshot sliced through the moment, throwing my thoughts into turmoil. The bullet cut through my shoulder. I exhaled sharply. The jewel trembled as my blood hit it, and then shattered, breaking into a hundred pieces and flying in every direction. Inuyasha was screaming. I fell forward, the darkness coming up around me, fighting with itself as it laid claim to my body. I was aware of Inuyasha's arms, and his warm scent: night, earth, forest, cigarette smoke…

I opened my eyes. Inuyasha was next to me, staring at me intently, his golden orbs sharp.

"Kagome?"

"…Inuyasha?"

"Where did you go?"

"She's sorry, Inuyasha. She's really sorry," I managed, fighting back tears.

I expected him to get up and leave. I expected him to say some sharp words, and blame me for the unbidden vision. But he grabbed my hand, looked into my eyes, and nodded.

(-)(-)(-)

The door opens and a tall figure enters, his long white braid waving behind him like a banner. His eyes cut into me, their peculiar hue a painful reminder. "So, you've sold your soul to the devil," he says, and his words are daggers.

"Sesshoumaru…" I whisper, rising from the bed.

The youkai struts across the room. "I don't know why I'm doing this," he mutters, just loud and clear enough for me to hear. He slaps me, knocking me to the ground. He turns on his heel and exits the room.

Rubbing my cheek, I prop myself up on my elbow. I open the tiny scrap of paper he slipped into my hand as I fell. My head starts to whirl as the familiar scribble unfolds before me.

_I'm coming. _

- Ichimu


	18. Borrowed Chord

Disclaimer: All Inuyasha characters/themes belong to their rightful owners (not me). Please do not sue.

Author's Note: Wow, the last chapter had quite the healthy response review-wise. Thank you so much each one of you for your reviews! I'm sorry that it took me forever to post. I had just the most stressful semester that you wouldn't even believe. Anyway, almost finished now…

_Chapter 18, Borrowed Chord_

A harsh knock came on the door. I started so badly that I nearly leapt off the bed. Inuyasha glanced at me, and then said, "Stay here." He rose and walked out the bedroom door. He closed it behind him. I sat a moment, my hands folded limply in my lap. There was a nasty creepy in my stomach, a tingling under my skin, like a million little bugs scuttling around under the surface. I had to get out. I scrambled across the bed, grabbed the necklace of the incomplete Shikon no Tama, and opened my window. I had one leg out the window onto the fire escape when my world went black.

When I woke up, my head was throbbing, my mouth was filled with a nasty taste, and I couldn't move.

"My, what a lovely little lady, eh, aniki?" probed a small, thin voice.

"Take her to Naraku. I'll deal with the spare," said a cool, soft, masculine voice.

I felt as though I was floating. I knew that there was danger, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I was sort of happy- pleased to be so numb and distant. There was no feeling below my mid-drift. Even the throbbing in my head was disappearing into cushiony layers of unconsciousness.

A shadow fell across my face. I looked up to see a rather hideous and squat man looming over me, his big frog mouth hanging open to reveal his remaining teeth. I found him slightly interesting, like an ugly painting. He smiled and began speaking. It was several moments before I could understand even a few of the words he was spewing.

"…pretty…I wonder…Naraku can't object… You'll die…a waste…"

I was getting tired of trying to interpret his babbling. I closed my eyes and tumbled down into darkness.

I started awake, panicked and gasping for air. I was in a lightless space, and I was terribly aware of two strong hands fighting for a hold on my writhing frame.

"Damn it," the wiry voice moaned. "I knew I should have used a stronger narcotic."

Fingers closed around my throat and pushed my head back against the ground. Another course hand tucked itself under my shirt. I bucked, but my body wasn't strong enough to form a proper defense. The bones in my arms and legs were made of lead, and with his fingers crushing my windpipe, my brain was losing the oxygen it needed to fight back.

He grabbed my bra roughly, and tried with over-eager, unpracticed fingers to unclip it. His other hand left my throat, and tugged at my shirt so forcefully that it ripped. Suddenly, I found my voice; I released a shrill, blood-curdling scream.

The next moment, a ribbon of green light cut the air, and the vile creature on top of me was thrown back into the darkness. A sword's sharp whistle sliced through the darkness, warm liquid hit my face, and then the only sound was the heaving of my lungs.

"Get up," ordered a voice. Facetious

"I-I-" I stammered.

"Get _up_." A strong arm pulled me to my feet. The smell of night and forests, and then we were running. A door opened, and we jumped out into the night.

We were running through an alley. My legs kept failing, but the one pulling me along would not pause even for a moment. We turned a corner, dashed up a flight of uneven concrete steps, turned another corner. We dashed around pools of light, and then I was pushed into a shadowed alcove.

"Here." The door opened, and I was forced inside.

There was a humming, and then the overhead light flickered into existence. I turned to face my savior.

"Sesshoumaru!" I gasped.

The tall, somber youkai frowned as he peered at me through those heavily lidded golden eyes. "Stupid girl. You almost handed the Shikon no Tama over to Naraku."

I fumbled through what remained of my shirt, and located the violet ball dangling around my neck. I noted in dismay that I was spattered in blood. "You killed him," I muttered.

Sesshoumaru cocked one black brow but said nothing.

"What was his name?" I asked.

"Mukotsu." Sesshoumaru said. "President of the sixth sector, biological weapons. You've already killed his vice presidents, Juuroumaru and Kageroumaru." He reached into his suit pocket, and tossed me a tiny crystal of the Shikon no Tama. "As one of the Shichi'nintai, he's been dead for centuries. That shard is what brought him back, and what was keeping him alive. I extracted it. He's returned to his original form: bones and ashes." He narrowed his eyes and looked at the Shikon no Tama against my collarbone. "Count yourself lucky that he was an idiot who couldn't see the real prize dangling before his eyes."

I suddenly became aware of my more or less exposed front, and made an effort to reconnect the broken fabric of my shirt. Sesshoumaru curled his lip.

"If you had lost the Shikon no Tama, I would have killed you, too." Then he turned and walked out, leaving me alone in the room.

I shivered and looked around. With a start, I noted the feminine figure tucked away in the shadows. Sango came forward, her face etched with concern.

"Oh God…" she breathed. She hesitated, and then she opened her arms.

A sob broke forth from my chest. I ran to Sango and buried my face in her shoulder. She held me and whispered soft, comforting words as I cried.

When I had calmed down, Sango pushed my hair out of my face and retrieved a fresh set of clothes from one of the lockers that littered the room. "This place is a safe house for the Resistance," she explained as I changed. "Sesshoumaru called me and told me to meet him here…I had no idea that you…" Her voice trailed off.

"Where's Inuyasha?" I asked. The shirt was warm and soft against my still pounding heart.

"Miroku went to the apartment," Sango said.

"Take me there," I said, selecting a gun and holster from another locker.

"I really think that you should stay here in the safe house-"

"Sango-chan," I interrupted, causing her to jump and look at me with those large, soft brown eyes. "Sango-chan, _please_."

Sango set her mouth. "Let's go."

(-)(-)(-)

I sit on the bed, wishing to God I didn't destroy that piece of paper, wishing that I could make sure just one more time that it was really Inuyasha's handwriting, that this isn't some sort of ploy.

When will he come? How will it happen? There are two big, unfriendly guards outside of my door with guns. I mean, of course they'd be no match for Inuyasha. But the last time they tried to get in, it ended in tragedy. I'd be a fool to think for one moment that Inuyasha was coming just for me.

"There's no way…" I whisper. There's no way that Inuyasha will pass up a chance like this. If he gets in, he's going for the gold. He's going for Naraku's throat.

The door opens. Fukouka enters, bearing a tray.

"I'm not hungry," I say, curling my lip at him.

"Starving yourself?" he says, setting the dinner tray down next to lunch tray that I didn't touch. "It's not a very noble way to go, I promise."

"It's far nobler than to live working for scum like Naraku."

"Fine, kill yourself," he says, shrugging. "If you die, we'll have no reason to keep your family alive. Your mother and grandfather will die. We'll keep your brother for testing, to see if he develops your family's peculiar ability to purify the Shikon no Tama. If he doesn't, we'll wait till he's of age, breed him a couple times with a hand-picked female, and then destroy him."

I shiver. At any other time, I would lose my stomach, but I know something Fukouka doesn't. Inuyasha is coming. He's alive, and he's coming.

"Or we could force-feed you. I promise there's no dignity in that," he continues.

The door opens again. Sesshoumaru enters, tall and disdainful. "Fukouka," he says with a sneer.

"Sesshoumaru," the man returns. "You've taken a special interest in the girl, haven't you?"

"Girl? No, I'm not here to see you."

Fukouka bristles. "I'm handling the situation. She's my case. Shouldn't you be off chasing the neighborhood cats?"

Sesshoumaru's eyebrow twitches, but the disdainful curl of his lip does not falter for an instant. His pointed eyeteeth flash dangerously. "Naraku asked me to come down. He's worried you're not taking proper care of this one." He jerks his head in my direction.

"I have it under control."

"I can see that," Sesshoumaru says, looking over the trays of untouched food.

Fukouka pulls out his gun. Quicksilver, lightning—smooth, swift, and deadly, a fighting draw for the vice president of the forth sector. He takes aim. I pounce.

The bullet hits the wall beside Sesshoumaru. I roll across the floor, the gun tucked against my chest. I stop, take aim, and take out the cameras in each corner of the room. I point the barrel at the tiny bridge that holds the sunglasses together over Fukouka's nose. I hesitate.

A swift blow. Blood spatters everywhere, hitting my hands and face. Sesshoumaru wipes his blade and puts it back in its sheath. Fukouka staggers, and falls. I drop my gun.

The door opens and my guards rush in. "What happened here?!" one asks, paling at the carnage.

"The cur attempted to insult me," Sesshoumaru says, kicking Fukouka's lifeless frame away from his smart black shoes.

The two men rush to Fukouka's side. The air whistles, and then their bodies crumble. Sesshoumaru flicks the blood from his blade.

"On your feet," he says to me.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask, struggling to get my feet under me.

"_You _are taking _me_ to Naraku," he says, grabbing my arm roughly.

"What? But I thought that Inuyasha-!" I start.

Sesshoumaru jerks me. I shut up and stare at him. His aura has become razor sharp. "Whether or not that bastard shows up is not my concern. I will have Naraku's head tonight, and you're going to lead me to him. In exchange, I offer you your life."

"If I refuse?" I ask.

He holds out one clawed hand meaningfully. "I could always just kill you now."

"How do you propose I find him?"

"Since I stole those shards, he keeps the Shikon no Tama in his sight at all times. Find the jewel, and you'll find Naraku."

I frown and close my eyes, redirecting my attention inward… There! "This way."

We're off.

(-)(-)(-)

I remember how strange it was; the apartment was untouched. Not a chair was overturned, nor a picture out of place. I paused for only a moment. I ran into the bedroom and headed up the fire escape, followed closely by Sango and her over-sized boomerang. I could feel the steel rods trembling under my fingers. The syncopated percussion of metal against metal accompanied our climb. I threw my leg over the edge and stumbled onto the roof.

"Inuyasha!" I gasped before I could help myself.

He turned, found me at the edge of the roof. "Kagome," he breathed. The relief in his voice made me tremble.

A kick in the face sent him sprawling. I darted forward. I was vaguely aware of Miroku trying to stop me. But then two arms encircled my torso and plucked me from the ground as though I were a feather. I flew through the air, and was set down on the ledge of the building—on the opposite side from where I had started. I turned to my captor.

The violet cross on his forehead was the defining feature of his handsome face. His black hair was tied back in a long braid. It struck me that couldn't possibly be much older than me. He wore a crooked smile that was wholly disarming, but danger lurked in his steel eyes.

Most impressive of all was the gigantic halberd that he rested against his shoulder. I knew immediately who this must be: Bankotsu, the president of the first sector.

"You must be Kagome-sama," he said, taking my hand and placing a firm kiss on it. "Was it you who killed my brother?" His steely eyes flashed.

"Mu-Mukotsu?" I stuttered. "No. I didn't kill him."

"I smell his blood on your hand," he said, smacking my hand away.

"Get away from her!"

Inuyasha had regained his feet. He was standing on the other side of the roof, his father's dinky sword held out in front of him. I looked from the halberd to Inuyasha's beloved sword and felt my stomach drop to my feet. I'm gonna die, I thought.

I act quickly. I punched Bankotsu in the side with my left fist, and rammed the heel of my right hand into his nose. He teetered, and I prepared to jump off the ledge onto the roof. But he had other ideas.

He grabbed me roughly around the neck, and put me back on the ledge. Blood oozed from his nose into his mouth, and I took a small amount of satisfaction in the realization that I had broken his nose.

Miroku and Sango started forward, but Bankotsu raised one eyebrow and tightened his hold on my neck. A small noise of discomfort leaked out of my forcefully narrowed esophagus. My friends froze mid-step.

"Let her go, Bankotsu," Inuyasha said. "This fight is between the two of us."

"She killed Mukotsu," Bankotsu said imperiously. "I ought to kill her now." He tightened his hold again. My world curled up around the edges like a piece of paper held over a flame. "But I'll give you a choice." He released me, and shifted his grip to my shirtfront. He picked me up and held my body over the edge. Wind swirled under my feet. I was paralyzed with fear.

"Don't be an idiot, Bankotsu!" Miroku trumpeted. "Naraku wants her alive. Don't think for a minute that he'll spare you if she dies."

Bankotsu wasn't listening. His eyes were fixed on Inuyasha. "I hear that sword of yours belonged to your father. I hear that Sesshoumaru almost got himself killed trying to steal it back from you in the days when Kikyo was still alive. I also hear that since Kikyo died, it hasn't transformed. Is that true, Inuyasha? Is that why it looks different from the last time we fought? You're sword's become just as pathetic as you."

"Shut your face or I'll cut it off," Inuyasha spat.

Bankotsu lifted me higher. I could tell that he was getting tired—his arm was shaking a little. I grabbed onto the fabric of his shirt. He turned to me, and ripped the Shikon no Tama from around my neck. "So, here's my proposition: if you go after her, I get away with the Shikon no Tama. If you stay and try to take the Shikon no Tama back from me, she'll probably be little more than a pancake by the time you find her."

My blood turned to ice, and even though Bankotsu had released my neck, I couldn't get any air.

"Ready?"

"You bastard!" Inuyasha roared.

"One…" I braced myself for impact. "Two…" He released me.

"Oops, must've slipped."

I fell. It was a sort of out of body experience. I was falling, and watching myself fall at the same time. I heard Inuyasha bark something about a scar. The air above me exploded with yellow light. Bankotsu yelled. Something shattered. I hoped that I would die before I hit the concrete. I closed my eyes and concentrated on trying to die.

I stopped falling. Just stopped. There was no crushing. There was no gushy sound of my organs collapsing like in the movies. No veil of red fell over my eyes like when you get a Game Over. I assumed that this meant I had died. I opened my eyes, and Inuyasha was there.

"Am I dead?" I asked.

Inuyasha shook his head. He was holding me so gingerly. I closed my eyes. I wasn't really sure where I was, or what had happened, but I was alive, and Inuyasha was alive, and I could hear our hearts slowing in unison, and I was happy.

(-)(-)(-)

"So, tell me again: what happened to Bankotsu?" I asked. I was sitting on the couch, propped up by pillows. Sango was bandaging my head, my neck, and a few cuts and bruises that I had sustained during battle. Watching her ministrations, I wished for Inuyasha's inherited ability to heal himself.

"After Bankotsu dropped you, Inuyasha's sword transformed. He used the Kaze no Kisu…" Miroku explained, sighing in exasperation.

"Which is?"

"Tessaiga's ultimate-"

"Who's ultimate?"

"Tessaiga. That's the name of Inuyasha's sword"

"Right. Ok," I said, rolling my eyes. "Tessaiga."

"Kaze no Kisu is Tessaiga's ultimate attack. Well, kind of. Every time Inuyasha battles, he seems to find a new ultimate attack," Miroku said. He was sitting across from me on the coffee table, sipping a cup of coffee. Sango finished her work and sat next to him.

"Kaze no Kisu cut Banryu."

"Who's a dragon?" I asked, mystified.

"Banryu is the name of Bankotsu's halberd." Miroku and Sango said in unison.

"I fell like I just fell into a manga," I moaned. "So Bankotsu freaked out when Banryu was cut. He ran. And he took the Shikon no Tama with him, which leaves us back where we started."

Sango smiled at Miroku.

"What?" I asked.

"Well," Sango said, her smile intensifying. She was still looking at Miroku.

"My years on the streets have a way of coming in handy," Miroku explained as he reached into his pants pocket. He dropped a warm object into my open hand.

The Shikon no Tama was still ours.


	19. Chamber Music

Disclaimer: All Inuyasha characters/themes belong to their rightful owners (not me). Please do not sue.

Author's Note: As I said in TDDUP, I'm going to try to finish both these stories before the end of the year, hopeful that I can update weekly. It's preposterous how long I've been sitting on this chapter here…but anyway! Please review-they are always read and appreciated (even the nit-picky ones).

_Chapter 19, Chamber Music_

"Miroku-sama, over here!" I shouted, lifting my gun.

Miroku turned into the alley where I stood. He slipped in a murky puddle, caught himself on his hands, and scrambled forward. The great, ugly giant stumbled after him, half-blinded. Twin columns of smoke curled out from his eye sockets. His mouth was twisted in concentration. He stopped, turned just as my violet bullet hit him in the forehead. The now-familiar electricity flared up in my belly, and then the giant crumbled—a mere pile of bone and ash that the wind swept away. I trotted over to the pile of bones and retrieved the Shikon shard.

"Got it, Miroku-sama!" I said, holding the violet shard out.

"Great job." He came up next to me, rubbing his arm.

"You're not injured, are you?"

"Nope. Easy as pie," he said with a wink. "Kyokotsu was hardly a threat, but it won't be as easy with the others."

"The most important part is breaking up the heads of the sectors, right?" I asked. We started back towards the hospital, which was acting like our headquarters now. It was nighttime, and there was no moon, which meant that Inuyasha was safe inside while Miroku and I handled the riffraff that came looking for the Shikon no Tama.

"The Shichi'nintai is the glue that holds the sectors together," Miroku agreed, "but it won't be as easy as eliminating each one of them." He stopped to whistle at a prostitute's rear end, and she winked at him over her shoulder.

I rolled my eyes at his antics. We turned the corner, and now were on direct route to the hospital. "What do you mean?"

"The vice presidents are, in a lot of ways, closer to Naraku than the Shichi'nintai are," Miroku explained.

"How so?"

Miroku twisted his mouth. "You remember, I assume, that you shot Kagura and nothing happened, correct?"

I shivered at the memory, and that was all the confirmation he needed.

"Naraku has her heart," Miroku said, as if he expected that alone to be illuminating.

"I don't get it." We had reached the backdoor of the hospital. I knocked, and Kisume allowed us entrance into the basements. "How does being in love with that sick son of a bitch keep her from dying when I shoot her in the chest?"

Miroku shook his head. "Not that kind of having, Kagome-sama. I mean that he keeps her heart in a jar."

I stared at him, still confused.

"Literally."

"Is that possible?"

Miroku shrugged. "With the exception of Sesshoumaru, all the vice presidents belong to Naraku. Before anyone remembers, he was a specialized agent for the old government. He was known for his inhumanity. The government that had created him began to fear him. And we know what happens when the government fears something."

"It destroys it."

"Right," Miroku said. "They laid a trap for Naraku, who was then known as Onigumo. Then, they set the building on fire. He was grievously injured but somehow, he survived. He made it to the government headquarters, and made a deal with the youkai there. The youkai devoured his soul, and in exchange, gave him a new body. Thus, Naraku the monster was born."

I felt a cold hand gripping my heart.

Miroku calmly retrieved a piece of gum from his coat pocket and held the door for me with his foot. We entered the dimly lit hall, checked in with the night nurse, and punched in the code to open the basement door. "So, he's essentially a hanyou. However, unlike natural-born hanyou like Inuyasha, Naraku can siphon off the youkai of which he is constructed, and give them a semi-independent life. Kagura and Juroumaru are two such examples of his detachments."

"Oi." I jumped a little as the black-haired, steely-eyed Inuyasha turned the corner. "You're late."

"Sorry," Miroku said with a shrug and a half-smile.

Inuyasha looked at me. "Are you hurt?"

I blushed a little. "No, just fine."

"Good. You can make me dinner, then. I'm starved."

I rolled my eyes, and Miroku and I shared a laugh. It was good to laugh.

(-)(-)(-)

"So," Sango began as I was cleaning up dinner, "we've taken out Mukotsu, and his vice presidents Juuroumaru and Kageroumaru. That means that the sixth sector, biological weapons, has been deprived of its key players. And yesterday, Miroku and Kagome took care of Kyokotsu, the seventh sector leader."

We were at the apartment, the four of us. I put the dishes in the sink and came back to kneel next to Inuyasha at the table. "Who's his vice president?"

"Someone named Goshinki," Miroku said.

"Never heard of him," Inuyasha said.

"That's because we've never run into him as of yet," Miroku said. "From what Sesshoumaru has told us, he's another one of Naraku's detachments."

"I'd kill for a go at that Renkotsu freak, and his pet, Ginkotsu," Inuyasha said, pursing his lips around his beer bottle and taking a long slug. He was on his fifth beer of the night. And probably, he would have a cigarette afterwards out on the fire escape. "I'll take Bankotsu's head while I'm at it."

Miroku was enjoying his fourth beer, while Sango and I were splitting a bottle of red wine. We were sitting back, relaxing, enjoying our success in taking down Kyokotsu the night before. Our talk was business-oriented, but our hearts and minds were concerned with the comfort of the group.

"I'll put in the movie," I said, getting to my feet. I stumbled slightly, and Inuyasha caught my arm.

"Steady on, girl," he said.

"I got it," I said. "Totally fine!" To prove it, I stood erect, and walked in the straightest line I could manage to the living room. Sango followed with the wine. Her cheeks were flushed, as I'm sure mine were. We giggled as we looked for the movie.

The microwave beeped, and Inuyasha and Miroku came in with another six-pack of beer and the popcorn. We popped in the movie, coalesced on the couch, and laughed and chatted for two and half hours, watching the movie in fits and spurts. We opened another bottle of wine, the boys had some more beer, and we put in a second movie.

When that movie was finished, Sango was asleep, her head on Miroku's shoulder. Miroku bade us goodnight, roused Sango with a kiss on the forehead, and helped her out the door.

I smiled at my friends as I watched them wind their way down the stairs. It was a different life from the one I had intended, but it certainly wasn't bad. Not bad at all.

"Hey, can you help me clean up?" Inuyasha asked.

I came over and made a rather feeble attempt at helping to clean. When we had successfully gotten all the empty cans and bottles into the kitchen, I threw my hands up in defeat and laughed. "That's the best I can do, Inuyasha."

"Don't tell me you're drunk," he said with a laugh.

"Not at all," I said, straightening up.

"Your cheeks say otherwise." He bumped into me. We laughed. "Join me on the fire escape for a cigarette?"

"Sure," I said.

We went into the bedroom and climbed onto the bed. Inuyasha crawled out onto the fire escape, and then took my hands and pulled me out with him. He pulled his cigarettes out and offered me the pack. I took one, and he tucked one between his lips before putting the pack away. He took out his lighter, lit the end of my cigarette, and then his own.

I took a long drag, and then blew out the smoke. Inuyasha watched my motion, one eyebrow cocked, his mouth set in a smirk. He blew his smoke out through his nostrils, and again, I was reminded of a dragon.

"Since when do you smoke?" Inuyasha asked.

"I had a friend in junior high named Romi who introduced me to cigarettes," I said.

"What happened to her?"

"She died. I haven't had a cigarette since."

Inuyasha sat on the steps, one leg on a higher step than the other. His cigarette smoke swirled around his silvery mane, which glimmered in the moonlight. My heart was beating wildly in my chest, despite the alcohol and cigarette smoke.

I let my cigarette butt fall into the alley far below. I could feel Inuyasha's eyes on me, but I dared not look at him. I felt giddy and lightheaded, intoxicated by his presence. A flashback surged behind my eyes, but I refused it, suppressing it with all my might.

"They killed my mother."

"What?" I asked, looking up at him.

"She was a member of an upper class family. She met an agent. She didn't know that he was youkai. She didn't know until it was too late. She gave birth to a hanyou. My father found out that they were going to kill my mother…and kill me. He tried to save us…but there were too many for even him. My mother and I escaped. She raised me by herself, taught me to be secretive. When I was eight, they found us. I came home from school and she was…" He closed his eyes.

"I was alone for a long time. The Resistance found me, took me in, taught me everything I needed to know, and when I was ready, gave me the sword my father had left me. Sesshoumaru found me then, and tried to take Tessaiga from me."

"What was her name?"

"Izayoi," Inuyasha said.

My stomach was full of bubbles. "Can I have another one?"

He nodded and stood, but as he stood, his foot slipped on the stair, and he fell forward, directly into me. My back hit the railing, bracing me against his weight. His scent and warmth rushed over me, stealing the air from my lungs. Slowly, I looked up at him.

He was looking right at me, and the fickle moonlight had flooded his golden irises with a soft, warm expression. "Inu…" I managed.

"You have…something in your hair," he said, reaching up and plucking the offensive object from my head. But his hand did not go back to his side. Instead, he touched my face.

"Inuyasha," I breathed.

He smiled. It was such a sweet, genuine smile. I flushed at the sight of it, my heart leaping in my throat. "Good night, Kagome." He slipped through the window, back into the apartment, leaving me alone on the fire escape, shaking.

"_Inuyasha…" I whisper, my fingers tracing his spine. He shivers and kisses me. _

"_Kikyo, I love you."_

I fell to my knees, clutching my head. "Get out!" I screamed, and then again, quieter, "Get out…" I started to cry. "I don't want to remember those things. I don't want to see them. I don't want to feel them." I hugged myself as I knelt there on the cold, iron fire escape.

"I don't want yours, Kikyo…I want my own." I put my head on my knees and sobbed.

"_I love you too, Inuyasha."_

(-)(-)(-)

We are running through the hallways. I praise myself for having the foresight to spend the day resting, allowing my body to recover from the brutality of the past three weeks. When I looked at myself in the mirror this morning, I almost looked human again, though my cheeks are sallow and my arms too thin.

"Sesshoumaru," I pant. "Wait up."

"Hurry up, girl," he says, but his pace slackens slightly.

We stop at an intersection, and press ourselves up against the wall.

"Which way now?" he asks.

I close my eyes and concentrate. My core shifts, swirls, and unfurls around me, arching along the cold, white walls, towards the faint pull and the violet glow that permeates my mental vision. "It's that way," I say, pointing at the crux of the two hallways across from us.

"Which hallway do we take?" he asks, frowning.

Feet clap along the linoleum floor. Sesshoumaru readies his sword. The two men in lab coats who turn the corner lose their heads in two swift gestures. Their warm blood hits my cheek. My stomach turns and I have to swallow down the urge to vomit as I rub the blood from my cheek.

"Which hallway?" Sesshoumaru asks again.

"This way," I say, somewhat reluctantly now as I run down the left-most hallway. I wonder what waits for us at the end of this sprint, and whether Inuyasha will be there.

My heart leaps in my chest.

(-)(-)(-)

I barely dodged the blast in time, and my lungs flared as I sucked in a hot, smoke-filled breath. I looked up to see the metal beast looming over Inuyasha, who had turned to check on me. "Inuyasha!" I called.

Inuyasha whirled around and caught the metallic rod that substituted for the creature's left arm with the blade of Tessaiga. Ginkotsu, the president of the fifth sector responded with a tinny, hollow series of unintelligible oaths, and reached for the katana at his belt. He swiped, and Inuyasha leapt back.

I took aim and fired, but Ginkotsu noted my attack and shifted so that the bullet embedded itself in a plate of metal armor. He cackled and jogged away, back into the trees.

"Are you ok?" Inuyasha asked, helping me to my feet.

"Fine," I said, "And you?" I examined his shirtfront with my fingers. The fabric was torn, but the skin underneath was untouched.

"Not even a scratch," he said, winking. "Here." He sheathed his blade and turned around. "Climb on."

I blinked at him. "Excuse me?"

"We have to go after him," Inuyasha said. "It'll be faster this way."

"I don't get it."

"Just quick. Climb on my back."

I did as I was told, though my cheeks were burning. I had barely gotten my legs situated before he was off, running faster than I thought possible through the foliage. He jumped up onto a park bench, and then, to my shock and displeasure, into the canopy of city park trees. Inuyasha leapt from tree branch to tree branch. I felt lighter than air, and the feeling was incredible…

"Enjoying yourself?" Inuyasha asked, a smile in his voice.

I lowered my face to the crook of his neck, my face flushing as I took a deep breath of him. I nodded.

Inuyasha laughed. "Just don't forget to shoot when we catch up with that bastard."

The memory sprang up, catching me off guard.

_"Inuyasha!" I gasp. "This is amazing!"_

_ Inuyasha laughs. "Don't let go, ok?"_

_ I laugh as well. "One second," I say, pulling my gun from its holster. I point it at a light post two blocks down. "Turn left."_

_ Inuyasha does so. I fire, and the light explodes._

_ "Awesome!" Inuyasha barks._

_ I lean over and place a firm kiss on his neck. He stops on the next tree branch. "Get down," he orders, his voice suddenly firm and mirthless._

_ I dismount quickly, holding onto his shoulder even though my training has provided me with the ability to balance on a toothpick. "What? What's wrong?" I ask, looking around._

_ He grabs me, spinning me into his strong arms, and places a firm kiss on my mouth. My heart leaps into my throat, but I melt against the feeling of his lips on mine. He breaks the kiss and looks at me, his golden eyes soft…so much softer than when we first met._

_ "Nothing…now," Inuyasha teases, kissing me again._

_ I close my eyes and push my task to the back of my mind. It won't be much longer now…and then…I will have to kill him. I sigh and lean into another kiss._

_ …I wonder if I still have the power…_

As I surfaced from the memory, we passed the tree…_that_ tree. I knew Inuyasha glanced at it. I could feel it as certainly as if he had told me. My heart sank slightly.

(-)(-)(-)

I sprinted out of the hospital, taking the safety off of my gun. Sango and Miroku were already fighting, and Sango cast a relieved look in my direction as I ran on the scene.

Something shot across my vision-a purple blur, and then a nearby fire hydrant exploded, showering us all in a heavy rain. The demon rose up, dripping wet, his red eyes glowing, and looked at me.

"Hello, Kagome," he cooed.

I swallowed hard.

"You're wondering who I am, and how I know your name," he said, his lips curling back in a hideous smile. He was purple and huge, all sinewy muscles with satyr-like legs and a dragon's head. Great horns rose from his skull, and a white mane cascaded down his spine.

"You hope that I don't reach Inuyasha," he said, nodding. "How cute."

I couldn't keep the confusion out of my face.

"Yes, that's right. I can read your mind," he said.

Sango lifted Hiraikotsu and rushed forward. The demon did not even look at her, but threw his arm out to toss her aside.

"Sango!"

"Sango-chan!"

Sango twisted, dug Hiraikotsu into a crack in the pavement, and spun around it to land nimbly on her knees. She glared at the youkai's back.

"My name is Goshinki," he cackled, still looking directly at me.

Inuyasha was injured. He had killed Renkotsu two nights before, but the fight had nearly cost him his life. He was healing quickly thanks to his hanyou blood, but he couldn't fight right now. We had to finish this soon, before Inuyasha got any stupid ideas about helping.

"Injured is he?" Goshinki rumbled. He squinted his red eyes with pleasure. "No matter. I'm here for you, Kagome."

I took a step back and raised my gun. Goshinki moved, so quickly that it felt like I was in slow motion, and my shot hit the window behind him. Goshinki laughed.

Miroku fired, I fired. Goshinki was two steps ahead of us, and wrapped himself around Sango, entrapping her even as she attempted to dive across the street. She glared up at him, waskizashi in hand and a scowl on her face.

"No, he won't," Goshinki told her, shaking his head.

Sango was taken slightly aback by this statement, but her surprise registered only in her face. I took aim.

Goshinki looked at me. "Do you think that's wise? I can read your thoughts, Higurashi Kagome. Your mind is an open book. You shoot, and I can simply lift Sango here directly into the line of fire."

I bit my lip and lowered my gun. How much could he actually tell?

"Oi! What have we here?"

I cringed. No, no, I pleaded mentally. Not Inuyasha.

Still looking directly at me, Goshinki released a hideous, maniacal laugh. "No, no, not Inuyasha!" he mocked, mimicking my own inner voice. "How disgusting you humans are. Filthy and weak, with minds full of baseness." He narrowed his eyes. "Even your concern is selfish."

He turned to Inuyasha, and stepped away from Sango. "Good evening, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha spat on the ground before pointing Tessaiga between Goshinki's eyes. "Your fight's with me, ugly."

"Big words coming from someone who can barely lift his sword right now," Goshinki said. "Why don't you just put it down? It will make your death so much less humiliating."

"Ursai," Inuyasha growled. "You know nothing."

"I know that you're currently judging the distance between you and Kagome, and wondering whether you can run over and take her out of harm's way before I have time enough to react," Goshinki said.

Inuyasha's golden eyes widened ever so slightly.

"That rattled you," Goshinki cackled.

Inuyasha growled, showing his teeth. "Shut the fuck up."

Goshinki ran forward. Inuyasha sliced, but Goshinki was already out of the way. Inuyasha twisted to avoid Goshinki's horns, which would have impaled him, but Goshinki was ready with his fist. He caught Inuyasha in the back and sent him sprawling. Inuyasha was up in a heartbeat, and ran towards Goshinki. Another similar skirmish knocked Inuyasha down again, and again. I could hardly stand to watch it.

_"Good morning, Kikyo."_

_ A cold shiver passes down my spine as I turn to face the cell. Goshinki grins back at me, his hideous, sharp smile taunting. I wish for all the world that I could blow that smug look off his face._

_ "How is Inuyasha?"_

_ White hot rage fills my body. "Leave him alone, Goshinki."_

_ "Be careful, miko," Goshinki warns. "Your thoughts are becoming softer…"_

_ I turn and storm out of the room, determined never to pass this way again._

Not helpful! I responded mentally to the image. Give me something to work with, Kikyo! But no more memories came. Instead, I began calling on the pure spiritual power within my core. It bubbled up, rising to my fingertips as it heeded my call.

Goshinki whirled around. "I wouldn't if I were you," he threatened.

It was just the distraction Inuyasha needed, though. He came flying in, Tessaiga careening toward's Goshinki's face. There was no room, no time for the demon to dodge. I smiled in satisfaction as Goshinki turned back. I was certain we had beat him.

Then, a terrible thing happened.

Goshinki caught Tessaiga between his teeth, and, tightening his jaw, shattered Inuyasha's blade.

Inuyasha was too shocked to let go, too stunned to retreat. He stared at the broken sword, and did not move when Goshinki's hand came up. He received the full blow of Goshinki's claws in his side, and fell to the pavement along with the pieces of Tessaiga.

"Inuyasha!" I shrieked, running forward.

"Kagome-sama!" Miroku yelled, running to shield me.

Goshinki tossed Miroku aside like he was made of paper. Miroku hit a brick wall, and was motionless.

"Miroku-sama!" I gasped.

"Miroku!" Sango said, running to our fallen friend.

I glared at Goshinki with every ounce of hate in my body. "Let me go to him," I commanded, pointing to where Inuyasha lay on the cold pavement.

"Why?" Goshinki said. "He is dead."

"You're lying," I said. "Let me go to him."

"His mind is blank, empty. He is either overcome with grief over the loss of his precious sword, or he is dead." Goshinki took a step towards me. I took a step back.

"How sad," Goshinki said, tilting his head slightly. "You never told him how you felt about him, and now he's gone forever."

I could feel the tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. No! I screamed mentally. It's not true! He's not dead! He can't be dead! He's not! He's not! He's not!

"But he is," Goshinki said, laughing lowly.

"He's not!" I screamed, and something inside of me clicked. My power poured out of me, exploding, filling the area around me. It was like an hourglass that someone had overturned, and everything was rushing out in the form of blinding violet light, uncontrollable and unstoppable. I couldn't stop. I began to panic. I could see nothing, and hear nothing beyond my violet-colored bubble. And I was being drained. Every last ounce was leaking out, dwindling down. I was in the danger zone, I knew instinctively…much more and I would die.

It felt like I had turned into a strainer. Energy was leaking out of every pore of my body. I was alone…utterly alone inside my mind. I could feel every Shikon shard in the city resonating within me. It was a cold, empty stone. Kikyo's presence was gone. I reached out for Inuyasha with my power, hunting for his presence, but it was gone. Inuyasha…was gone…

It stopped. I didn't have anything else. My core was emptied. I stumbled for a moment, and then steadied myself against the telephone pole to my left.

Goshinki, Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha were all in front of me, the former two of which stared at me in amazement. The latter two still lay unresponsive.

"Impressive..." Goshinki breathed. "It seems that you truly did bear some affection for that hanyou." Goshinki's smug grin returned, and he flicked his tail happily. "You and Kikyo are just alike in that way…in spite of your impressive powers, you're still both stupid, selfish humans at heart."

He came towards me, again with that incomprehensible speed, and wrapped his hands around me. I couldn't stop him-I could barely even move. "Now, stupid human, I will take you to-" He stopped, his eyes widening, and his body spun around. "What?" he hissed.

I hit the ground and rolled as Goshinki's right arm was severed from his body.

"Inuyasha!" Goshinki gasped.

My head shot up, and indeed, Inuyasha had gotten up. He stood in front of me, and his back was turned to me. The wound Goshinki had made in his side was gone…vanished. The skin was whole, though his t-shirt was still torn. His right hand was covered in blood-Goshinki's blood. He stared at that hand, and though I could not see his face, I knew as surely as I breathe that something was wrong.

"Inuyasha…" I whispered.

"What…how?" Goshinki barked. "Why can't I read your mind?"

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed, "How should I know?" His voice was different…it was rough and harsh-sounding, and grated against my ears like sand paper.

"Your mind is…blank…empty…" Goshinki said. "I see only…only the desire to kill me!"

Inuyasha tilted his head, and emitted a low, haunting laugh. "How did you know?"

"Kagome-chan!" Sango gasped. "Get away from Inuyasha!"

I looked at Sango, and there was fear all over her face. She was staring wide-eyed at Inuyasha, and holding Miroku protectively against her. What was going on?

Inuyasha cracked the knuckles of his blood stained hand. Goshinki took a step back, uttering a cry of fear, and then turned heel and ran. Inuyasha pursued. He was incredibly fast-I couldn't keep up with his movements. One moment, Goshinki was running away, and the next, he wasn't. Bits of the demon poured down on the street, and his severed head hit the pavement in front of me. I jerked back, and looked at Inuyasha.

He was staring down at me. But this was not the Inuyasha that I knew…

His eyeteeth were sharpened, pushing past the confines of his lips like vampirical fangs. His eyes were red, his irises blue. He looked severe, threatening, and…unsatisfied. He stared at his hands, which were covered in blood.

"It's…not enough," he mumbled.

Those words pierced through me, striking a chord in her memories and bringing them to light.

_The shower is on, and the room filled with steam, which hits me like a wall when I open the door. He is there, shirtless, his upper body half-submerged in the bathtub, which is practically overflowing._

_ "Inuyasha!" I cry, running into the room. I pull the plug out of the bathtub, barking in pain as my hand hits the burning hot water. I shut off the shower, and the bath begins to drain._

_ Inuyasha lifts his head from the water. His white hair glistens in the light as droplets pour off of it. His anguished golden eyes stare down at his hands, which are still under the water._

_ "I can't get it off…"_

_ I know what he means. I take his hands out of the water and gingerly place them in my lap. Our eyes meet._

_ "Don't-!" he snaps, tearing his eyes from my face and his hands from my lap._

_ "It's painful…isn't it?" I whisper. My heart feels heavy in my chest. I've taken so many lives. The blood of so many people…it rests in my hands. Just as the blood of those that Inuyasha destroyed now rest in his. _

_It isn't the same; Inuyasha didn't choose to transform. I did this to him. I took Tessaiga away, and gave it to the youkai, because I was told to do so. The youkai attacked me, as he was instructed. Miroku and Sango nearly died trying to protect me. And then Inuyasha was struck down…he almost died. _

_But then…then! He transformed! His aura, his entire constitution changed. It became the aura…not of a hanyou, but of a youkai. And then…he destroyed. He cut the men down until there was no one left standing._

_ "It…it wasn't enough," Inuyasha chokes out. "I couldn't stop. The bloodlust…no matter how much I killed…it wasn't enough."_

_ I want to tell him that I understand. I know. Practically without awareness, I shift along the linoleum to sit behind him. I wrap my arms around his naked torso. His wetness soaks through my blouse, but I don't let go, allowing the warmth to flow through me. I rest my head on his shoulder. Eventually, his hand comes up to hold my wrist._

_ "Kikyo…the next time I transform…my claws…they might rip through you…"_

The memory dissipated, leaving me alone, lying in the street, looking up at an Inuyasha that I did not know.

I rose shakily to my knees. Inuyasha watched my movements with mild interest. I used a nearby trashcan to get to my feet. I took a step forward. My world spun. I steadied myself and took another step forward. I slipped, and tumbled right into Inuyasha's arms.

He braced against my weight, but did not catch me. I grabbed onto the fabric of his shirt in order to keep from falling further, and with great fistfuls of t-shirt in my hands, I looked up into his face. "Inuyasha. It's me. Kagome."

"Ka…gome." He tested the syllables on his tongue as though he had never said them before in his life.

"Don't you remember me…Inuyasha?" I choked on his name as tears sprang into my eyes.

Inuyasha's eyes moved from my face back to his blood-covered hands. "I need more," he said simply, a growl rumbling in his chest.

I swallowed hard, and reached for his face, turning it back towards mine. "It… It's painful, isn't it?" I breathed. "The bloodlust…it's not enough. But it's time to stop now, Inuyasha. There are…no more…enemies."

Inuyasha's eyes widened. "Kagome…" he gasped.

I couldn't hold myself up any longer, and I begin to fall towards the earth. Just before I hit the ground, though, Inuyasha's hands closed around my shoulders and brought me in to his chest. He scooped me into his lap as he knelt, my head in the crook of his arm.

"Oh Kami…Kagome…Kagome," he said. "What have I done? Kagome?"

I opened my eyes. Inuyasha's face was etched with concern, his eyes pure gold. "Inuyasha." I smiled, and fell into unconsciousness.

- Ichimu


	20. Sonata Form: Exposition

Disclaimer: All Inuyasha characters/themes belong to their rightful owners (not me). Please do not sue. Also, I do not own Armani. In fact, I don't even own anything _from_ Armani.

Author's Note: Hurricane Irene and all the hype surrounding it has set me back quite a few days. I apologize. Hopefully, I will be able to bring some new chapters to the table this week regardless. We will see.

Translations:

Youki- Not sure if I've translated this before.,, Youki is a youkai's energy-a sort of power source/aura. I think that the difference between jaki and youki should be a little bit stronger, but it seems youki is more of a power source, whereas jaki is a tangible presence.

(Name) to moshimasu- My name is (name).

_Chapter 20, Sonata Form: Exposition_

I woke up in the morning, feeling as though I had slept for days. I stretched and went to swing my legs over the side of the bed, but a vague movement on the floor caused my heart to leap into my throat. Soundlessly, I slipped my hand under my pillow, grabbing the pistol there. I released the safety and peered over the edge of the bed.

Inuyasha was sprawled out across the floor, one white ear twitching in his sleep. I suppressed a burst of laughter and put the safety back on before flopping onto the mattress. Propping my head up, I watched him sleep. He was so peaceful… Unable to resist the temptation, I reached down and brushed a tendril of white hair from his face. He wriggled his nose and mumbled something incoherent.

My mind returned to last night…the terrible surge of demonic power within him. What was it that I had seen? How had he become that creature, and how had he returned to me?

_Returned…to me. _I repeated the thought, as though to test its legitimacy. Goshinki didn't stand a chance, but then, neither did we. But _I_ had brought him back. Albeit, Kikyo's memories had provided me with the vital clue, but when Inuyasha spoke, it had been my name that shattered the spell that had been placed over him. And now he lay beside my bed, his naked torso scarred and yet perfect.

Swallowing hard, I slipped out of the bed and onto the floor. Inuyasha did not move as I stretched myself out beside him. I made no sound, not daring to even draw a breath, but I was sure the pounding in my heart could be heard down the street. Still, he slept, his breath easing over his slightly parted lips as his chest rose and fell.

I closed my eyes and placed my hand on his chest. No response-no jumping, no barking out in surprise. I opened my eyes, and Inuyasha's were still closed. I smiled as my courage blossomed, and traced his collarbone with my fingers. The sensation of his skin made my face burn pleasantly. I shifted closer, and the dizziness became almost overwhelming. I inhaled deeply the scent of night, forest, and cigarettes…

Inuyasha rolled towards me and opened his eyes: pure, vibrant pools of gold that I could gaze into for the rest of my life. He examined my face, and then, without saying a word, rested his arm lightly on the crook of my waist. The faintest pressure at the small of my back beckoned me closer, and I complied. The corners of Inuyasha's perfect mouth tucked back into a smile, and I found myself unable to look away from his lips, even when he had closed his eyes and fallen back to sleep. I stayed awake for a long time, my hand resting over his heart as his arm cradled my torso, staring at the trace of a smile that still lingered on his lips.

At last, the security of closeness and the lullaby of our breaths lulled me back to sleep.

(-)(-)(-)

When a shaft of sunlight pulled me from my longing-filled dreams, Inuyasha was gone. I took a shower and got dressed. In the kitchen, I found a note specifying that he had gone to get his sword repaired by a loony friend of his father's. Somehow, the fact that he had gone so far as to leave me a note made me smile.

(-)(-)(-)

Inuyasha returned the next day, looking quite disgruntled. He dropped his duffle bag on the floor and flung himself onto the couch, which protested under his weight. I freed my hands from the soapy water as quickly as possible and rushed to the couch, where Inuyasha made room for me to sit.

"How's the sword?" I asked.

Inuyasha picked up the sheathed blade at his side and pulled Tessaiga free. When the golden light had faded, I could see that the beautiful blade was wholly intact. Then, gravity ran its course and Tessaiga plummeted towards the ground behind Inyasha's head, embedding itself in the floorboards.

I blinked. "Well…that was…different," I said.

Inuyasha grumbled and released the sword. It returned to its dingy, beat-up normal size. "Totosai did it."

"Totosai?" I repeated.

"He's a loon," Inuyasha said. "He said the only way to fix it was to add one of my fangs to the mix." He opened his mouth to reveal a missing eyetooth. I must have looked more than a little perturbed, because he snapped, "It'll grow back."

"So…your fang is in the sword now too?" I asked.

"Yup," Inuyasha said.

"But your fangs are so small…" I giggled.

Inuyasha frowned in irritation. "Totosai does some mumbo-jumbo and out comes a complete Tessaiga. Great! I was ecstatic until I tried to pick it up. He said it's heavier because the Tessaiga is now relying on _my_ strength as well as my father's. He said it's sharper and stronger now too… Lifetime warrantee."

I went around the couch and picked up the sword. I tossed it up in the air. "Feels the same to me," I said.

"Well, if you could make it transform, you'd know the difference," Inuyasha growled.

There was nothing more to say, so neither of us spoke for several long moments. Finally, he sat up and looked over at me. "How are you feeling?"

I smiled and shrugged. "Fine!" I said.

"I didn't… I couldn't find any wounds on you. I didn't…attack you, did I?" he asked, his voice choked and halting as he stared at his hands.

I shook my head and sat down on the couch facing him. I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapped my arms around my shins, and let my chin rest on the pillow of my right knee. "Goshinki said that you'd died. When I heard that, something… That is, my spiritual powers kind of…_exploded_. It kept going until I was drained-I couldn't stop it. That's why I fainted."

Inuyasha looked beyond relieved.

I shifted slightly. "What…what happened to you, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha sighed and ran one clawed hand through his white mane. "I… I told you that my father was a youkai, and my mother was a human. Well, when he died, my father left Tessaiga behind for me. Tessaiga acts as a sort of filter for my youkai blood. When it transforms, the levels of youki in my body stay the same."

"That's why it happened before. Tessaiga was taken away, so you transformed. Your youkai half took over, and your human half just…sort of went into hibernation. It's a survival instinct," I whispered.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at me. "How did you-?"

I sighed heavily. "Can I make a confession?"

Inuyasha nodded slowly.

I swung my legs over the side of the couch and rolled my head to relieve the tension that was building in my neck and shoulders. He was going to think that I was crazy. It was probably better to not tell him. But…he deserved to know. If Kikyo was helping us from beyond the grave, Inuyasha had a right to be forewarned that I had insider information. Besides…I didn't have to tell him _everything_ that I was seeing.

"Remember…remember that time that you woke me up, and I began reciting what Kikyo had said during your first conversation?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened.

I took this as a sign to continue. "Ever since we've started collecting the shards, it's been getting stronger and stronger… At first, it had to be triggered by something like a name or a sensation. But now… Now I can almost will them to come. I sort of… Well, I can… I'm experiencing Kikyo's memories."

Inuyasha was so pale his skin almost matched his hair. In a coarse voice he managed a "how?"

"Right before she was shot, Kikyo made a wish on the Shikon no Tama. She wished for the ability to protect me," I whispered. "I guess this is the Shikon no Tama's interpretation of that wish.

"That's how I knew about your first conversation. That's how I knew about your transformations. A lot of times, they're just useless clippings of memories, but sometimes… I get something more substantial."

Inuyasha didn't move, didn't say a thing for a long time. He just stared at me-I could feel his eyes boring into the side of my head. Finally he cleared his throat and stood. "I'm…um…yeah." He picked up Tessaiga, his duffel bag, and walked out of the apartment.

I didn't try to stop him this time. I knew that he needed space. He needed to digest… I was proud of and angry with myself all at the same time. At least now he knew. At least we had cleared the air. We had started our marriage as complete strangers. We'd never been friends, but now we were almost something more…

I closed my eyes and remembered the feeling of his arm around my torso. I thought to store it away for when times got difficult… I had no idea how much I would need that precious moment.

(-)(-)(-)

I worked at a clothing store now-Inuyasha wanted me far away from Government agents after the incident at Momotaro's. Sango was waiting to walk me home after work. It was sweltering hot; I could feel my blouse sticking to the small of my back.

"Konnichiwa!" said a little girl who practically ran into me. "Are you Kagome-san?"

I blinked down at her innocent little face. Her dark hair was pulled into a side ponytail and secured with a ribbon. Her lacey pink and cream-colored dress looked like it had come straight out of some very posh children's magazine. Her huge brown eyes gazed up at me expectantly.

Sango and I looked at one another, utterly disarmed.

"Ano…" Sango said.

"Hai. Kagome to moshimasu," I said.

The girl squealed in triumph and clapped her hands together. "Rin found her, Rin found her!" she sang, taking my hands and bobbing up and down. Suddenly, she froze and gasped so loudly it was as though she had never drawn breath before. Her big brown eyes focused on my face, and she said in a comically serious tone, "You have to come with me!"

She was surprisingly strong, and practically dragged me into the alley. Sango followed. The both of us were too mystified to suspect any foul play, even though it should have been the first thing that came to our mind.

It wasn't until we rounded a corner and came upon an encoded door that led to a dimly lit staircase that I began to think this was a very bad idea. Rin had punched in the code, singing a nursery rhyme as she did so, and led us up the stairs. We stood in front of another door. "You have to go inside, please," Rin said, pointing at the structure.

Sango looked back down the staircase. The door had closed, and was locked. There was nowhere else to go but through the door. We shrugged at once another and entered.

A white-haired man stood inside, his shimmering locks brushed to the point where they seemed to glow. He wore a three-piece suit in spite of the weather, and his leather briefcase was placed on the table in front of him.

"Kagome, Sango," he said crisply.

"Sesshoooooooooooumaru-saaaaaaaaama!" Rin sang, running into the room and throwing her arms around Sesshoumaru's leg.

"Your daughter?" Sango asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Sesshoumaru's lip curled back in disgust. "Does she look like a youkai to you? Rin is my ward."

"Ward?" I repeated. "I thought they only had those in the eighteenth century."

"Shows how much you know," Sesshoumaru intoned flatly. He pushed the briefcase across the table towards us.

"What's in here?" I asked, touching it with only the pads of my fingers, wondering if perhaps it was a bomb… You never knew with Sesshoumaru.

"It seems you've found a way to get rid of my idiot brother," Sesshoumaru said. "I congratulate you. However, it's imperative that you undo whatever you did and get him back at once." Rin, sensing she was no longer the focal point, floated off across the room to poke at a strange person I had not noticed before. He was some sort of frog-creature no higher than my knee, dressed in a suit like Sesshoumaru's and carrying an interesting cane at least twice his height.

I flared at the comment. My relationship with Inuyasha was absolutely none of Sesshoumaru's business. I told him as much, and pushed the briefcase back across the table. Sesshoumaru shrugged.

"I don't care what that cur does with his pets in bed," Sesshoumaru said. "What I'm interested in-" He reached into his briefcase as he spoke, but both the action and his words were cut short as I slapped him across the face.

Sesshoumaru blinked, then cracked his neck and looked at me. "If you're finished with your tantrum…"

"How dare you?" I trumpeted.

"Kagome-chan," Sango warned, touching my arm. "We should listen to Sesshoumaru."

"Not if he's going to keep treating me like some kind of whore!" I shouted, glaring into his golden eyes. They were so similar, and yet, so entirely different. It occurred to me that this was how Inuyasha must have felt looking into my face…perhaps how he still felt. "Not if he's going to act as though I'm some inconsequential speck vying for Inuyasha's attention with my dead sister!"

"Aren't you?" Sesshoumaru asked, straightening so that he was just out of arm's reach. He narrowed his irises into pinpricks. "You're the replacement."

"I'm not," I growled. "I'm different. And Inuyasha knows it."

A long moment passed. Every eye in the room was on me. Even Rin and the frog-creature watched me. Finally, the flicker of something like a smirk touched Sesshoumaru's lips. He opened his palm, and revealed a tuft of brown hair.

"What's that?" Sango asked since I was still glaring at Sesshoumaru.

"Suikotsu has a bitch of a multiple personality disorder. He's been playing doctor for the past few months, but last night, he returned to headquarters, full of information for Naraku about where Inuyasha and company like to spend their hospital visits."

Sango gasped, her fingers closing around my arm. "But-!"

Sesshoumaru continued as though she had said nothing at all. "Unfortunately for him, he decided to make a house call to his vice president first."

"Kagura," I said.

"I just happened to be at Kagura's apartment. Rin was asleep in the living room."

Rin ran to Sesshoumaru and hugged his leg again. He placed a hand on her head.

"Why were you at Kagura's place in the middle of the night?" Sango asked.

Sesshoumaru looked at her, and without expression, said, "We were having a nightcap."

"The mean man took Rin!" Rin said, burying her face in the folds of Sesshoumaru's pants.

"Yes," Sesshoumaru said. "Suikotsu thought it would be hilarious to play hostage. Apparently, he had discovered where Kagura's and my loyalties truly lie. When we heard Rin scream, we rushed downstairs-"

"Downstairs," Sango echoed with a suggestive curve of her brow, "from the bedroom?"

"-and I ripped Suikotsu's head from his body," Sesshoumaru finished without acknowledging Sango's question.

"Sesshoumaru-sama saved Rin!" She cried gleefully.

"Jakotsu was trailing Suikotsu, knowing the man's instability. When he came in the house and saw Suikotsu's body on the floor, he took his Shikon shard and left."

"So the information is gone with the man," Sango said.

"Yes."

"What does this have to do with Inuyasha?" I asked.

"Jakotsu will turn the shard over to Bankotsu. When he does, Bankotsu will use it to repair Banryu. And when Banryu is repaired, Bankotsu will head directly for the dimwit who broke it. The same idiot who can't even lift his own sword right now."

"Shit."

(-)(-)(-)

But Inuyasha was nowhere to be found.

I was walking home from work with Sango when a black car stopped to our left and a man in an Armani suit and a purple silk shirt and tie stepped out onto the curb. He was slim and tall, with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and secured with a woman's clip. He removed his sunglasses to reveal two purple streaks running from his bottom lashes to the hollow of his cheeks.

Examining his nails, the man smirked. "My name is Jakotsu, Kagome-san. Where is that _adorable_ husband of yours?"

Sango and I took one look at each other before turning heel and running for our lives.

-Ichimu


	21. Sonata Form: Exposition: Second Subject

Disclaimer: All Inuyasha characters/themes belong to their rightful owners (not me). Please do not sue.

Author's Note: So…two deaths in the family and an upcoming move across the country have kept me a little occupied recently. I apologize for the delay, but feel that I am justified in taking some time off from writing. I think, realistically, it's safer to say that I will post _every other _week.

Also, to make up for my time off, this is an extra long chapter.

According to my memory (I was far too lazy to go through my DVD collection and actually find the video, sorry!), Kanna's hosts cannot actually speak when their soul is taken from their bodies. However, I've changed that up a bit for dramatic purposes. Hopefully, I don't offend anyone this way.

Enjoy, and please take a moment to review.

Translations:

Mou: (kinda of a whiny 'mow')"Ugh."

Inukoro: (EE-noo-cor-o) "Dog-shit" Kouga's typical 'pet name' for Inuyasha.

Hinezumi: (hee-nay-ZOO-mee) "Fire-Rat" What Kagome is describing here is Inuyasha's customary outfit. The legend of the hinezumi fur comes from the traditional Japanese fairytale known as "The Bamboo-Cutter's Tale". It is fireproof, and, according to Inu-canon, better than poor armor. There are several instances where Inuyasha uses his cloak to deflect attacks. This isn't quite consistent, but we'll forgive Takahashi for this, won't we? :)

_Chapter 21, Sonata Form: Exposition: Second Subject_

I caught myself just before my face hit the pavement, and shielded myself as the window in front of me shattered. I whirled around, but Jakotsu's sword was still in his hand. Looking…perfectly average. I looked back at the shattered window behind me, and then over at Sango, who was crouched in the street, clutching her bleeding thighs. Her mahogany eyes were steely as they bored into Jakotsu's face.

"Mou," Jakotsu moaned. "This is booooooooring. Two little girls, completely unarmed… I can't believe aniki is making me do this… How did you two even manage to take down so many of us?" He brushed a fleck of dirt from his suit.

His sword shot out again, unfurling like loosed lightning across the pavement towards me. I dove out of the way and it wrapped itself around a fire hydrant. Now I could get a good luck at the contraption; as Miroku had described, Jakotsu's sword was, in fact, a series of incredibly thin linked blades.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuugh!" Jakotsu said, pulling on his sword. The fire hydrant protested, but then the blades penetrated its exterior, and the water pressure burst the hydrant apart at the seams. Water rained down upon us.

"Stupid bitch!" Jakotsu yelled at me. "This suit was fucking expensive!"

I fumbled though my purse for something useful. I pulled out my can of mace. _Better than nothing, I guess..._ I rushed forward, obviously surprising Jakotsu. He watched me, his mouth slightly open as his bangs plastered themselves to his forehead.

"Kagome-chan?" Sango called. She must have thought I was going crazy.

I was still at arms' length when he sprang to life. He slashed with his sword, and I was forced to jump back. "Trying to purify me, Kikyo mod two?" He stabbed, and though I twisted myself around, his blade clipped my hip.

The distance was closed. I raised my mace to spray the angry fluid into his eyes. Before I could even get the mace to eye-level, he caught my wrist and raised it up above our heads, the tip of his sword resting against my abdomen.

"Sesshoumaru wasn't kidding, huh? You really are a disappointment," Jakotsu said with a sneer. There was murder in his eyes. "I don't know why the President wants you so badly. There's nothing special about you, is there? You're not even cute. How could adorable puppy-eared Inuyasha have chosen such a mediocre mate?" He smirked, bent down, and licked my cheek.

I slapped him across the face.

The sword jerked, pricking my skin. Jakotsu turned his head to glare at me. A thin strip of blood rested on the shoulder of his Armani suit, already being carried away by the flood of the hydrant. Given the insane glint in his eyes, you would have thought I'd just spilt coffee on the Mona Lisa.

"You shouldn't have done that, little bitch. I was going to hand you over to Naraku intact, but now… Now, I think I want to hear you scream." He shook the mace from my hand and pulled my hand towards his face. "Now, I think I'll slice these stubby fingers off… One by-"

"That will be…_unnecessary_."

Jakotsu and I both looked around at Sango.

She was standing, though her thighs still bled. Her arms hung limply at her sides. The water had soaked through her clothes. Her eyes were different… They were…_dull_.

"Sango-chan, what are you doing? You shouldn't be moving!" I said.

Jakotsu said nothing. He was watching Sango, every muscle in his body taut.

"Let her go, Jakotsu," Sango said.

Jakotsu complied, releasing me. I stumbled backwards. Jakotsu glared at me before putting his glasses back on, turning, and walking back to the black car. He got in, and the car drove off.

I turned to Sango, mystified. "W-what is going on?" I asked.

Sango turned and smiled weakly at me. "It may be that he is still afraid of me." she said. When she laughed, it sounded hollow. She seemed to notice this, and her face contorted for a moment. She swayed, and fell to her knees.

I rushed to her side. "Sango-chan!"

"I…" her voice was choked, her face hidden behind a mess of mahogany hair. "I…" She reached up and grabbed my shoulder roughly. She squeezed so hard that I barked out in pain. Then, she collapsed.

(-)(-)(-)

"It was good that you brought her here, Kagome-sama," Miroku said, looking up from Sango's peaceful, though pale face.

Sango was splayed across the couch in our living room, her head and wounded legs propped up through the employment of every single pillow I owned. I had her under blankets to avoid her from falling into shock. More than that, I couldn't do without bringing her to the hospital. And Sango was the only doctor with clearance for the basement level.

I nodded mildly and passed Miroku a mug filled with tea. I wished for the umpteenth time that Inuyasha was here… He would know what to do. He would go after Jakotsu and rip him apart. _He _wouldn't be caught in the middle of a fight without his weapon like I had.

Miroku and I stayed up as long as we could, watching Sango sleep. Finally, we dozed off ourselves.

(-)(-)(-)

I woke up to a knock on the door. Miroku was snoring lightly, his arm supporting his head as he straddled the back of one of our new (thrift store) chairs. Sango was still resting peacefully.

I got up and walked to the door, wondering who on earth could be knocking at this hour, and praying that it was Inuyasha returned…having lost his door key? Yeah, okay. It was a long shot.

I opened the door to a young man with long, jet-black hair and arresting icy blue eyes that surveyed me coyly. I blushed darkly under that gaze. We stood in the doorway for several very long minutes.

"Um…" I finally said. "Who are you?"

"Huh?" He said, snapping out of his reverie. "Uh… Are you Higurashi Kagome?"

My frame flared in response. For the first time, I noticed the pointed ears, the sharpened eyeteeth. His eyes weren't just arresting…they were…_wolf-like. _And the…ohmigosh fluffy brown TAIL swishing back and forth behind him...!

"This is the Masashi household," I managed, and went to slam the door in his youkai face.

He caught it, however, and pushed it open with quite impressive strength. I wished that my gun wasn't halfway across the room. Why oh _why_ did I not pick it up before answering the door?

He raised his hands defensively. "Right. Masashi. Masashi Kagome, your married name."

"Get the fuck out of my apartment or so help me-!"

"Oh, hey, Kouga. What's up?"

I turned to see Miroku half-turned in his chair.

"You know this creep?" I asked, jerking my thumb at the strange youkai in the doorway.

"Creep?" he barked.

Miroku chuckled. "Kagome, this is Captain Hayashi Kouga, the Leader of the Resistance. In other words, _our boss_."

I turned back to find Kouga grinning at me crookedly. "You, however, can just call me Kouga." He winked at me. I blushed again.

"I…um… I'm sorry for the misunderstanding," I said. "Please, do come in."

Kouga removed his shoes and stepped into the apartment. "No hard feelings," he said, smiling at me…wolfishly. He must have caught me staring at his tail, because he laughed and said. "Wolf youkai. But don't worry, I perfectly tame…except when I don't have to be." This must have been some sort of attempt at a pick-up line, because he reached down and scooped up my hand before depositing a kiss upon it as he spoke. When he added the second part, he winked…again. I confess that my blush deepened.

"Well, he's housetrained anyway," Miroku said before standing and walking over to shake Kouga's hand.

Kouga frowned slightly in irritation. "That more than I can say for the mutt who lives here." He plucked a white hair from the back of the armchair. "He even sheds? Gross."

Miroku chuckled. "Anyway, Kouga. What can we do for you?"

Kouga looked down at Sango. "How's she doing?" he asked, his voice suddenly quite soft.

Miroku shook his head. "We've taken care of the wounds on her thighs. They weren't deep. Other than that, she's been sleeping. We can't wake her for anything."

I found myself spacing put as they spoke. Okay… I couldn't _help _myself. Kouga was lean, though well proportioned. The muscles of his arms showed through the fabric of his black, long-sleeved turtleneck (strange clothing for July…). His black hair was pulled back into a long ponytail, but it was still rather, well, manly. He had an active, agile frame that seemed to be ready to dodge a bullet at any given moment. I was, admittedly, attracted to him. My heart was beating against my tightened ribcage, an effect amplified almost immediately as I realized _he_ was watching _me._

"And how are you doing?" Kouga asked me.

"M-me?" I stuttered. Boy, do I sound intelligent. "I'm um…fine."

Kouga's eyes narrowed as he perceived my lie. "I should have come to you right away, Kagome, but I wasn't thinking clearly. You see, I didn't know you before…what an intelligent, quick…_attractive_…ly resourceful person you are." Behind him, Miroku rolled his eyes. _Miroku_, pervert extraordinaire, was rolling his eyes at someone.

"Truth is, I sent him away on a mission. He's even more useless now that his sword is too heavy for him. So, I sent him to get it sorted out." He walked over and took both my hands. I blinked as he planted two kisses on my knuckles. "Will you forgive me? I know your sensitive, pitying heart must be bleeding with worry over that pathetic mutt… I never dreamed he'd take this long."

"W-who?" I stammered.

"Inuyasha," he said.

Inuyasha! My mind snapped back to reality, and I almost laughed in Kouga's face. A pathetic mutt? Oh boy…this was worse than dealing with Sesshoumaru. At least Sesshoumaru hated Inuyasha for being Inuyasha. Kouga was just getting territorial about…me!

"Oi, who you calling a mutt, wolf-shit?"

I whirled around. "Inuyasha!" I gasped.

He was standing in the doorway, one hand resting upon the knob. He looked a little thinner, and rather tired, but he was uninjured. A cigarette hung from his lips, flaring faintly to reflect an orange pinprick in his beautiful golden eyes. Handsome, strong, warm…_my _Inuyasha. Inexplicably, I burst into tears and ran into his arms.

He was so surprised, he dropped his cigarette. "Ka-Kagome!" he managed. "What are you-?"

"I was so worried!" I cried, burying my face in his chest and breathing in his scent: spices, moonlight, dew-slicked leaves, and the unmistakable aroma of tobacco.

A moment later, he wrapped his arms around me and engulfed me in his embrace. We stood like that for ages, oblivious to the world around us. Then, he shifted so that his warm breath tickled my ear. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Welcome back, chew toy," Kouga said venomously. "So happy to see you haven't died. Is the mission complete?"

Inuyasha looked at Kouga and removed his right arm from my waist. He reached across the space between us, and shifted Tessaiga so that he could draw it without making me move. It flared with golden light as it burst from its stealth, and hovered in Inuyasha's hand, poised for battle. "Looks like it, kitten."

"Good. It's a shame Sango's not awake to hear this, but I don't have much time," Kouga said. "It's time for us to get a move on. It's time for us to strike."

"Like last time?" Miroku said, his voice thin and dangerously low. "You're going to send us in to be bait?"

"The Shi were never intended as bait, Miroku, and you know that," Kouga said. "I didn't know-" He stopped and looked at me, his icy eyes suddenly harsh. "None of us knew that Kikyo was working for them.

"You are our special forces unit. If you can't do this, no one can," Kouga added.

"What's the plan then?" Inuyasha asked, sheathing his sword.

"Since last time, Naraku has erected a barrier around his headquarters: some sort of…youki purifying aura. My men can't get near it. _I _can't get near it. Naraku's locked himself inside of it, and only humans can go in and out freely. Just this week he took Kagura and Sesshoumaru inside; we've lost our best undercover agents, but Naraku is still getting his information out."

"What makes you think _I_ can get through a youki-purifying aura, catnip brains?" Inuyasha barked.

Kouga pointed to me.

"You're going to send Kagome-sama in?" Miroku asked.

"She's Kikyo's sister, isn't she?" Kouga asked.

"It's dangerous!" Miroku growled. "She could get hurt."

"She's not going alone, Miroku," Kouga barked. "I would never put her in direct danger!

"You and Sango will go in as well. You'll break down the barrier for inukoro here, and then Kagome will lead you all to the shards. And where you find the shards, you find Naraku."

"What about Jakotsu and Bankotsu?" Inuyasha asked. "If they run across Kagome before I get there…"

"Let Sesshoumaru worry about them," Kouga said.

"That is…_so _not comforting," Inuyasha moaned.

"Okay, I _know _it's not a perfect plan," Kouga said, running a hand across his face, "but if you're waiting for perfect conditions, you'll be waiting for the rest of your lives! We _had _the perfect plan and I almost lost all of you as a result. Maybe this time, with an imperfect plan, we'll succeed."

"Your logic is not sound," Miroku pointed out.

"It is a good plan."

We all turned to look at Sango. She was sitting up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Miroku seemed to teleport across the room to her side.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, checking her forehead.

"I am fine," she said, though her voice sounded thin, forced, and…flat.

"You're cold," Miroku moaned.

"It is probably from the blood loss," Sango said.

"I don't know…your eyes look awful dull, Sango," Miroku said.

Sango shook her head. "I am fine," she intoned in the same manner. "I am just tired." She looked at Kouga. "The plan is good."

She was being…weird. But I was too eager to finally have my chance…to _finally_ get my family back. I smiled at Kouga. "It's crazy, but I'm in."

Reluctantly, Inuyasha and Miroku agreed. We said goodbye to Kouga, and then headed to sleep. Sango and Miroku slept in the living room, which left the bedroom for Inuyasha and I. We stood awkwardly in the doorway for a few moments.

"I'll sleep on the floor," Inuyasha offered after a pregnant pause. He collapsed on the ground before I could protest.

"I need to get changed."

"Go in the kitchen," Inuyasha said.

"_You _go in the kitchen," I barked. "The door doesn't shut anymore and Miroku will see me getting dressed."

"I'm sleeping," Inuyasha said.

"You're speaking and your eyes are open," I growled.

Inuyasha closed his eyes.

I stifled a cry of frustration and pulled out my pajamas. I had just gotten my shirt off when I noticed the make-up mirror on the ground near Inuyasha. I gasped and threw my shirt over it quickly.

"Inuyasha!" I trumpeted.

"H-huh? What?" he said, as if coming out of a deep sleep.

"Don't even try to act like you weren't looking, _pervert,_" I spat.

Inuyasha mumbled something incoherent and I, now in my pajamas, dove under the covers. I was so embarrassed that I didn't even occur to me that I had never seen that mirror before in my life.

(-)(-)(-)

Sango went to work the next morning before I even woke up. Miroku went to go help out at the hospital, and Inuyasha went to a tutoring appointment. I was all alone in the apartment, and busting with excitement. In less than twenty-four hours, Naraku would be dead and I would be reunited with my family, I told myself. I couldn't wait for them to see the apartment. I cleaned it from head to toe, making sure there was not a molecule of dust anywhere.

I couldn't wait for them to meet Inuyasha! My…_husband_. Despite the events of last night, I giggled slightly at the thought of introducing Inuyasha to my mother. What would she think of him?

Inuyasha came home around lunchtime, claiming he had no memory whatsoever of seeing any mirror in the bedroom. I chalked it up to embarrassment, and pleased to think he was as humiliated as I was mortified, I let the matter drop. We ate lunch together, and went out onto the fire escape for a smoke.

"The apartment looks good," he said, taking a long drag on his cigarette. "Smells a little too much like lemon, though."

"That's the scent of clean," I giggled, pushing the grey fumes out of my mouth.

"What will your mother say when she finds you smoking?" he said, closing one eye as he observed me.

"What will she say about all this goddamn cursing I've picked up?" I asked.

We laughed together. It felt so nice to just laugh together.

"Do you… Do you really think we'll get them back?" I asked after our laughter had died away.

Inuyasha looked at the blue of the July sky. "Yes," he said. "I think we will."

I let my head fall onto his shoulder. He looked at me, and then placed his head lightly upon mine. "Thank you, Inuyasha," I whispered.

"For what?" he asked.

"For everything," I answered.

(-)(-)(-)

A black, unmarked car picked us up at the apartment. Miroku and Sango were already inside. Sango and I were both wearing cat-suits. I'd be lying if I didn't admit to posing in front of the bathroom mirror for twenty minutes in the tight leather get-up. Miroku was more modestly dressed in black jeans, a purple tee-shirt, and a leather jacket. Inuyasha was wearing a bright red sashinuki-style mosh-pit of traditional Japanese clothing that he called Hinezumi fur. He claimed it was "better than poor armor." I thought he was completely insane.

We left the car behind in an all too familiar alley and ascended the fire escape onto the roof. Inuyasha made a rude gesture at the capitol building while Miroku splayed the building blue prints before us.

"Inuyasha, you'll have to hang out across the street while Sango, Kagome, and I go in. According to the pictures from our intel units, the security beyond the gates has decreased significantly. We'll meet the truck near the west gate, and take it through to the complex. Once inside, we leave the truck near this copse of trees and slip through the first story window. The night should provide adequate cover provided we time the lights just right."

Sango and I each nodded. She strapped Hiraikotsu to her back, and checked the poisons pouch at her hip. Each of us, including Inuyasha, had a mask to keep the poison from our lungs. We tied them around our necks by use of a thin cord. Miroku and I checked the safety on our guns. Then, we were sprinting across the rooftops. I felt like a real undercover agent, streaming through the fluorescent, starless Tokyo night, the wind pushing against my skin-tight costume.

The truck reached the stop sign just as we dropped down the fire escape of our last roof. On cue, the streetlight flickered and went out. Before it could buzz back to life, we closed the space, and slipped under the truck's body, using magnetic cling-ons to hold us as the truck traveled. As I slipped under, Inuyasha whispered, "be careful" before running off to wait.

The truck jerked into motion, and we passed through the west gate undetected. Inside the complex, we detached at the appropriate row of trees, rolling out from underneath the truck at precisely the right intervals to avoid being pancaked by the wheels. Each second that the lights passed just a hair too far to the left or right, Miroku was one second closer to slicing our entrance out of the first floor window.

Once the glass was cut, we slid through the space into a well-lit and empty hallway. There was so many doors, so many offices… It was nearly impossible to think where to go next.

But Sango apparently knew.

"Sango," Miroku hissed. "Where are you going?"

She stood up and marched down the hall, straight past the security camera, and up to a coded door. She punched in the code, and the door swung open, revealing another hallway.

"Sango-chan?" I whispered.

Sango turned to us with that deadened gaze and said, "Come."

There were footsteps to our left. We had no choice. We bolted through the open door. Sango followed us in just before the guards turned the corner. We pressed ourselves against the door, waiting for the guarded to pat past.

Miroku grabbed Sango's hand. "What is going on here, Sango?" he asked.

Sango jerked her hand away and continued down the hallway to an unmarked door. She looked back at us, and then stepped inside.

Again, what choice did we have? We followed.

We found ourselves on the stage of a large auditorium. A huge projection screen was hung from the catwalk behind us. Sango stood centerstage, and beside her was the strangest child I've ever seen.

She was white, pure white from her hair down to her beautiful shoes. Her long hair was pulled back from her dull eyes by white butterfly clips. Her lacey dress was accented with a white ribbon. And in her hands was clutched a circular mirror…the same mirror I had seen on my floor the night before.

"Who are you?" Miroku barked at the child. "And what have you done to Sango?"

The child blinked and held up the mirror. "My name is Kanna. Her soul is here," the girl said in the same monotone that Sango had been speaking in since our fight with Jakotsu. "She is not alone inside. I would have the hanyou too, but Kagome covered the mirror before I could take him." I gasped, remembering the vague, sleepy voice Inuyasha had spoken with after I accused him of peeping.

"I'm such an idiot," I moaned out loud.

Kanna looked at Miroku, her face registering no emotion. "Would you like it back?"

Miroku lifted his gun and fired twice at Kanna.

"Miroku-sama!" I gasped.

The girl lifted her mirror, and the bullets slipped inside of the glass. "That was foolish," Kanna said. "I will show you why." The mirror shifted, rippled, and then the bullets were zooming back towards us. Miroku grabbed me and we hit the ground, barely surviving the reflected attack.

"What are you?" Miroku yelled, standing. "A youkai?"

"She has no jaki," I said, looking at her as I rose. "I sense nothing."

"I am Kanna, offspring and personal assistant of Naraku," Kanna said without expression. "I have no jaki. I am…nihility."

"Nihility? A nihility youkai?" Miroku asked. He was stalling, trying to figure out what to do about Sango while Kanna talked. "And what exactly does that entail?"

"That's why I couldn't sense you. You must have been right under our noses this whole time… You have no jaki or youki? Nothing that I could purify… _That's_ why you can move in and out of Naraku's barrier without being purified," I said, trying to buy Miroku the time he needed.

But Kanna wasn't a talker; she looked up at Sango. "Kill them," she instructed.

Sango ran towards us, unclipping Hiraikotsu from her back. She threw it with all her might, and Miroku and I barely sprang apart in time. It hit the stage floor in between us, sending splintered wood into the air.

Rather than waste time retrieving it, puppet Sango pulled out her wakizashi and ran towards Miroku, slashing fiercely as he stumbled backwards, desperately attempting to stay out of range.

"Miroku-sama! Sango-chan!" I cried, I started running, thinking that I could grab Sango around the waist and throw her to the ground… Maybe I could even pin her there while Miroku figured out how to stop Kanna.

"Keep him busy," Kanna ordered Sango. She turned her mirror towards my face, I caught sight of my reflection, and suddenly, mid-stride, I froze. I collapsed to the ground, mute and immobile as I watched my best friend try to rip the man she loved to shreds.

Despite the knowledge that Kanna had sapped Sango's soul in less than a minute, I was amazed by the speed at which her power swept through me. Warm numbness was building in my arms and legs. My head was as fuzzy as though I had just devoured a six-pack of beers in a thirty-minute period. I could feel all my strength, my very essence being torn from my body.

In front of me, Sango ripped a small vile open with her teeth. She pulled her mask up over her mouth, and dropped the vile onto the ground in front of Miroku. A greenish cloud emerged. Miroku covered his mouth, fumbling for his own mask.

Before he could secure it, Sango elbowed him in the shoulder and kneed him in the gut. Miroku bent over her leg, gasping for breath amidst the toxic cloud. Sango stepped back, and watched as Miroku sputtered and coughed, filling his lungs with the poison.

She raised her wakizashi to the height of Miroku's neck, and prepared to strike.

"S-Sango," he wheezed.

Sango hesitated, and something within me flared to life.

"Oh…" Kanna said. "Your soul…"

She stepped around so that I could see her mirror. The surface was in turmoil, boiling like an unwatched pot of pasta. All around me, a violet aura was beginning to build.

"It's too big," Kanna observed.

As she said it, the violet light burst forth from the mirror, pouring into my body, filling me up. My strength came rushing back, the dumb headiness vanished. I rose to my knees, glaring at Kanna. But the mirror was not finished. Bluish orbs rushed out, charging off in all directions.

"The souls are leaving," Kanna said. She looked behind her as a blue orb struck Sango, and my friend fell to her knees. "Naraku will be most displeased." With that, she disappeared.

I made to rush towards Sango and Miroku, but Sango's hand flew up. "Stay back!" She gasped. "There's poison he- Oh my God, _Miroku_!" She grabbed the hacking man who had curled into a ball on the stage in front of her. She pulled him back, dragging him off the stage as he wheezed, only semi-conscious.

I pulled on my mask and followed, grabbing his lower half as we struggled across the auditorium and into the hall. Sango barked instructions as we went, steering us towards the hospital wing with the determination of a sea captain steering his ship through a hurricane.

Miroku was fading. I knew when she asked me to go break the code on the hallway door that he didn't have much longer. He had stopped coughing…his lungs had ceased to fight back. He was as white as Kanna, his eyes were closed, and there was a dark stream of blood pouring down his chin. I attached my decoder and set to work as quickly as I could. The door clicked, and we pulled him through.

"Miroku!" Sango moaned, kneeling beside him. "Wake up…please?" She made a desperate sound in her throat, and looked up at me. I knew then that she had seen everything Kanna had made her body do through that mirror.

"This is…all my fault…" She looked back at him, and her eyes brimmed with tears. "_Please_, open your eyes."

A tear struck Miroku's face. He flinched, and his eyes opened. "Sango…thank God you came to. Sango… Leave me," Miroku wheezed.

"No, I won't leave without you!" she barked.

"You have to…you have to stop Naraku," Miroku looked calm as he gazed up into her face. His amethyst eyes were so warm, transfixed as they were upon her features. Sango touched his face, tears streaming from her beautiful mahogany eyes. I choked back my own sobs, and laid a hand on Sango's shoulder.

"I won't leave you! I can't! Don't ask me to- If you can't come with me, at least let me die with you!" Sango threw herself upon his chest, and buried her sobs into his violet shirt. Miroku closed his eyes, and placed a shaking hand upon her back.

"Sango," he whispered. "I'm…sorry…" He went still. His breathing slowed and then…

It…normalized? Sango was still weeping, but the color was speedily returning to Miroku's cheeks. His chest was rising and falling with deep, powerful breaths. He blinked and looked down at Sango in bewilderment. "Call me crazy," he said in his normal, melodic voice, "but I'm feeling much better."

"M-Miroku?" Sango breathed, looking up into his face. "W-what is-?"

For the first time, I felt the warm, peaceful presence. "The barrier!" I gasped. "It's purifying the poison!"

Miroku sat up. Sango stared at him in bewilderment. "Miroku…" she breathed. He smiled at her roguishly, and we all shared a brief, but happy laugh of relief.

"What are you all laughing at?"

We looked up to see Inuyasha standing above us, his arms crossed over his chest. His hair was black, his eyes blue. He wore a scowl on his face.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing in here?" I gasped. "You were supposed to wait for our signal!"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I got tired of waiting."

"It's not the new moon," Sango said. "Why are you-?"

"The barrier…" Miroku said. "It must have purified Inuyasha, but because he's a hanyou, he just reverted to his human form."

"Is that you, Inuyasha?" asked an all-too familiarly creepy voice down the hall. "Your human form is adorable too!"

-Ichimu


End file.
